Morning Dew
by Stargazer1
Summary: A CATS story set in the Medieval times. A time where King Growltiger and Queen Griddlebone are off fighting the Siamese and young Macavity decides to kidnap King Deut's youngest daughter. Follow the characters in this story. Chp 3 up
1. The Beginning

Morning Dew  
  
-  
A/N: I don't own any of these characters they belong to TSE, RUG, and whoever else. Have fun .  
  
-  
An event that should have been stopped and never should have occurred, an endless battle between two families, between the two kingdoms. This had happened before, and hopefully will never happen again. A young princess captured by an evil knight and prince. Just to be tortured, abused, and maybe killed. A young knight off to save the princess, to capture her heart, and to save the day. A happy little love story, yet not this time. This time it is a little different. The tom that saves the queen doesn't capture her heart, but of another. This time is full of black magic, fires, so much stuff and more. This is the story, read on to your hearts desire.  
  
-  
On that cool spring day where the dew had just fallen and the land was just waking, fowl play was written and described in the husky air. The castle laid still, only servants and knights up and about. The king lay in his chambers, his dreams pleasant and beautiful. In the other two chambers should be his two daughters, sleeping soundly and quietly, dreaming of princes and knights. A small servant girl, her dark hair down to her shoulders, walked into the first bedroom, in her arms a container of water. She filled the wash pan with water and drew the thick curtains back, the sunlight filling the room. The oldest princess stirred and gave a soft moan of wakens. She tossed her braided scarlet hair over her shoulder, and stirred to cover her face from the light. She soon dozed off to sleep again. The servant girl made her way out of the room, her tail almost getting captured in the door, and made her way to the youngest daughter's room. A high-pitched scream echoed through out the castle, several other servants rushing to the scream of the young one.   
  
-  
A cream colored queen raced to the sleeping chambers of the princess. When she reaches it, the younger servant was in a heap on the ground. The elder looked up and almost screamed herself. The room was in shambles. The portraits of a fair queen were torn and shredded. The bed sheets were in a muddle, the curtains torn from their support. A broken water dish was in front of the young servant. The table where the wash pan was held at was toppled over, suggesting the princess put up a fight. How could all of this happen and no one notice was fowl. The older queen kneeled next to the small queen.  
  
"Electra. Electra please, pull yourself together," said the elder, shaking Electra. The small servant clung to her.  
  
"Miz Jellylorum. The princess is gone!" she said softly trying not to cry. Another young queen ran into the room.  
  
"Miz Jelly! Miz Jelly! Exotica needs your assistance. I'll comfort Electra," said the queen, looking at Jellylorum then her hazel eyes trailed to Electra.  
  
"All right Etcetera." said Jellylorum, dashing off to the kitchen to help with the need. Etcetera kneeled down next to the shaken Electra; her pulled up hair moving with her movement.  
  
"What is King Deuteronomy going to say about this?" asked Electra, glancing up at her younger friend. Etcetera smoothed out her apron, and looked back at her friend.  
  
"I do not know." Etcetera spoke softly, the words barely escaping her lips. Electra began to cry softly, the tears slowly sliding down her cheeks. Etcetera looked at the ground and began to think, think of something to cheer up her friend. "I have an idea. Lets go tell the knights about this!" Electra looked up at her friend, her vision blurred due to the tears.  
  
"Why?" she croaked out, her slender fingers wiping the tears away.  
  
"Because my dear friend, Knight Tugger is down there," said Etcetera, a broad smile on her face. The emerald eyes of the darker queen lit up, the tears stopping and a smile was born.   
  
"Yes! Lets!" Electra piped up, the smile bigger and bigger. The two rose from the ground and dashed off to the Knights area.  
  
-  
Down in the knights' area, the smell of ale and rotten food filled the room. A couple of knights sat in the room, their armor on and everything. A tall black and tan one sat on the table, taking off his upper body armor releasing his full-grown mane. He looked in a mug of ale and straightened his curl of his hair. He laughed and slammed the mug down, a gray head snapping up. His misty gray orbs glances around tiredly at his companion. The mane one scratched behind his ear and slapped the gray one on the back. The gray one swiped at the mane on and laid his head back down on the table, his armor making noises as he did. A younger tom walked in, his helmet and upper body armor in his paws. The white tom with a black patch over his eye looked around. He sat his armor down, the gray one snapping his head up.   
  
"Damnit, stop that noise!" hissed Munkustrap, shoving the armor off the table. The white and black one just looked at Munkustrap.  
  
"God, someone is cranky," he muttered, gathering up his armor and setting it in a chair.  
  
"You'd be tired too, Alonzo, if you were up all night." said the mane one, combing out his mane.  
  
"Tugger... bugger off." muttered Munkustrap, setting his head back on the table. Tugger glared at Munkustrap.  
  
"Now THAT was uncalled for." cooed Tugger, slapping Munkustrap on the back. Munkustrap groaned and swatted at Tugger.  
  
-  
The clicking of shoes echoed in the halls as the two queens made their way to the Knights area. They turned and busted in, Etcetera tripping over her own feet and tumbled to the ground. The three knights heads looked into their direction. Munkustrap groaned and threw his mug at the two queens, it hitting Electra in the leg. She fell forward and tumbled next to Etcetera. She began to whimper, Munkustrap groaning.  
  
"So much noise. So much NOISE!!" Munkustrap groaned, putting his hands on his head. Etcetera patted Electra's back and glanced at Munkustrap.  
  
"What is with him sirs?" she asked softly, nodding in Munkustrap's direction. Tugger smiled a sexy smile and rested a paw on Etcetera's shoulder. A shiver went down her spine as he touched her shoulder, a soft purr coming to her throat.  
  
"King Growltiger's Knights have been on a rampage burning down our villages. Munkustrap just got back from an all nighter. Course this village was a close one, not like a lot of them that would take days to get here and back. Lucky guy. Carbucketty, Tumblebrutus, and Rumpus already headed out to the far off villages a couple days ago." Tugger explained, his voice tender and soft. Etcetera got goose bumps from Tugger's voice, her little brain going full hyperness. She gave a purr and a small little smile at him. Tugger smiled and tickled under her chin. Munkustrap looked at Tugger.  
  
"You can't flirt with the servants you jackass. Don't you know anything?" he muttered, wanting to throw more stuff. Tugger just laughed and glanced at Munkustrap.  
  
"You stick in the mud." he purred and got up. Alonzo knelt next to Electra and put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"What's wrong kit?" he asked softly, his blue eyes looking into her emerald ones. Her lips parted, her bottom lip quivering. She tried to speak but nothing came out. Alonzo touched the queen's lips to steady them and then removed his finger. "Please?" She took a deep breath and blurted out everything.  
  
"Princess Demeter! She's gone; her room is in a horrible muddle! Oh please Knight Alonzo! Please, we have to find her! It smells fowl, so fowl," she pleaded, grabbing his arm. Tugger's ears perked up.  
  
"A horrible muddle? I'M SO THERE! Lets go! We have a lady to save and a muddle to see," said Tugger, dashing through the door. Suddenly Munkustrap was wide-awake and dashed off to Demeter's room. Alonzo helped Etcetera and Electra and soon followed. Electra looked at the dreamy look in Etcetera's eyes.  
  
"He touched me..." she muttered and fainted, Electra catching her giggling.  
  
-  
A slim figure walked down the corridors of the castle, her light blue dress bringing out the softness in her white fur. Her bluish green eyes looked in front of her as she walked to the eldest daughter's room. The lady in waiting hummed softly to herself, wondering what the princesses would want of her today. She was hoping they would ask her to dance again; she loved dancing, especially for them, but more so for a certain black and white tom. She gave a small little sigh as she turned and walked into the chamber of the eldest Princess. She walked over to the dresser and removed the undergarments for the princess then fetched a ruby red dress with golden lining that tied in the front with golden colored laces, made of the finest silk. She spread them out over a chair and walked over to the princess and shook her gently.  
  
"Princess. Princess Bombalurina please wake up," she said softly. The deep blue eyes of Bombalurina appeared and looked into the bluish green eyes of the lady in waiting. She yawned some and rose out of bed.  
  
"Ah, good morning to you Victoria. Morning already?" she asked, slipping out of bed and dropping her nightdress. Victoria grabbed the rag and dipped it into the wash pan and began to wash Bombalurina off for her morning semi-washing. Once done, she dried her friend off and grabbed the clothes from where they had been waiting. She began to dress Bombalurina while she hummed softly. Bombalurina glanced at the white figure. "Have you been to see my sister yet Victoria?" she asked. Victoria lifted Bombalurina's arms up.  
  
"No I haven't yet ma'am, I always tend to you first, you know that," she said, tying the strings of the undergarments. Bombalurina nodded as Victoria put the dress on her, tying the front as well.   
  
"Of course I do young one but... I sometimes get the feeling you see her first as times, come to me, then go back to her. Why is that Victoria?" asked the curious Bombalurina, sitting in a chair waiting to be brushed. Victoria blushed some, running the brush through the scarlet hair with black and orange highlights.   
  
"Yes. Yes ma'am I do that at times. Demeter is my best friend princess, she is just so kind." explained Victoria, brushing the silky hair. Some strands slipped through her fingers as Bombalurina smiled.  
  
"And I am not dear one?" she asked, smirking as Victoria braided her hair. Victoria blushed more as she braided.  
  
"Oh no, you are kind as well, yet it seems Demeter is closer in age to me than you so we share a lot of stuff." explained Victoria, tying the waist length braid. She grabbed a red diadem and placed it around Bombalurina's head and held up the mirror for her.  
  
"I'm yet again beautiful, thank you my dear." said Bombalurina, straitening her bangs in the mirror and waved a hand for Victoria to leave. Victoria nodded to Bombalurina, and made her way out of the chambers. As she walked to Demeter's room, she saw three knights running into the room. She tilted her head as a mane one stood at the door. She walked over to him and he stood in front of the door.  
  
"Excuse me. I need to get through," she said softly. Tugger smiled and put an arm around the lady in waiting. She blushed softly and tried to get past him.  
  
"You can't go in there my dear," he said softly. Victoria looked up at him.  
  
"Why do you say that sir?" she asked. Tugger bit his lip and sighed.  
  
"Demeter's been kidnapped." he said quietly. The bluish green orbs of the white queen went wide, and the small figure broke away from Tugger. She raced into the room and skidded to a halt. Munkustrap and Alonzo were searching around the room, looking for any traces. The room began to spin, and a loud thud was heard. Alonzo looked up and noticed a white and blue heap on the floor. He raced over to her and shook her gently. Tugger just looked at her. "She fainted." Alonzo nodded and picked her up.   
  
"We have to tell King Deuteronomy," said Alonzo softly, looking at the fainted queen in his arms "We have to tell him Princess Demeter has been kidnapped."  
  
-  
A cruel laugh was heard near the Desdemona Forest. A black stallion in the dressings of the kingdom of King Growltiger and Queen Griddlebone stood outside the forest, his head bobbing up and down. In the arms of the armored knight, a queen with long black hair with golden and deep red highlights. He purred softly, looking at the queen in his arms. He looked at the forest that would save him a day and a half if he went through them. It would only take him a day and a half to get back to the kingdom than three days like normal. He just purred.  
"Soon Princess Demeter." he purred softly, looking down at her, lifting his helmet off his head, his hair gingery colored. His deep ginger eyes looked at her. "You'll be mine," he said softly, the queen sleeping soundly. He pulled the reigns to the right and kicked with his left foot and the stallion galloped into the haunting forest that howled to be left alone.  
  
-----  
  
Warm embers crackled, flames dancing to their own little tune. Scream of terror, agony, and surprise. Crying of the innocent rang in her ears, the crying of her sister and the sound and smell of burning fur. Blinded by the tears she ran through the hell given place, flames grabbing at her. Stay, stay, and don't go, cried the flames that waltzed with the wind. Run dear child run, shouted the wind. She ran, the cry of the innocent behind her, tears blurring her vision. She collapsed to the hot ground, flames starting to engulf her. She cried out. STOP PLEASE! Leave thee be! She tried to her up, fire catching onto her dress. She screamed and tried to put it out which was hard since it was all around her. The light of the flames lighted her body up with beautiful golds, oranges and reds. She got up and began to run again.   
The queen ran and ran, the small town not seeming to stop at all. She skidded to a halt when a burning beam from a local shop topples down onto the ground, embers jumping at her. She jumped; squeaking softly with surprised and ran out the burning beam crashing down behind her. She ran and collapsed. She breathed deeply, surprised to smell clean air. She looked through her blurred vision and noticed she had made it out. Her sister! She stumbled to her feet and turned around. She had to save her sister, her mother, and brother. She ran towards the village but came to a halt when she heard the galloping of hooves and a knight in horseback stopping her. She hissed softly.  
  
"Please move!! I need to help my family," she said looking up at the knight. He looked at her; his chestnut eyes matched the patch over his right eye. He shook his head.  
  
"I'm not allowed to do that. I have to look after you now," he said, still looking down at her. She shivered gently at that look. The knight looked up and motioned to the other two knights to start to carry water from the stream to the little town to put it out. He looked back down at her. "If you want to help, help carry water." he told her. She looked away. Her family was probably dead by now, because of that knight. She looked at the sky, the sun slowly rising. Dawn was almost here, and neither she nor the knights knew about the crime that had happened that very night.  
  
The queen sat in the meadow before the simmering village. It was now around eight in the morning, and the skirt part of her dress was soaking with water. Her arms were sore from carrying bucket after bucket to the village to try to put it out. She rubbed her upper arms and moaned softly. Her arms could not bare the work. The knights' stallions bucked their heads up and down, letting out loud neighs of frustrations. They felt like running around and bucking, not standing put and doing nothing. The soft wind blew and teased the young queens hair, her hair fluttering gently and brushing against her cheek. Her whole body felt cold to her, even though it was her regular temperature. She just stared at the gray smoke that lifted from the village like ghosts leaving their body. She shivered gently, casting her sight down to the ground. A hand fell upon her shoulder and she looked up. The knight who had stopped her looked down at her. Her bright hazel eyes looked away, still upset about what he did.  
  
"You can go find your family if you wish," he said. Her little body rose from the ground and began to walk to the burned village. She stopped on the outside and bit her lip. Fear built up inside her. She shook her head, ignoring the voices in her head. She held her head up high. She had to believe her family was still alive, that she wasn't the only one to survive. As her vision began to blur, she ran into the village shouting "Mother!"  
  
-  
The king stirred in his sleep, memories flooding his dreams. He stirred, trying to rid his mind of sorrow, hate, and lust. His memories were interrupted when the curtains were drawn and his dreams turned to light. His deep gray eyes squinted due to the light. He made out three figures standing there; one seemed to be extra long across as if it was holding a log or something.  
  
"Are you here to start my fire dear servants?" his deep husky voice asked.   
  
"No sir, we are not your servants." rang a voice, the figure coming and kneeling next to the bed. The hands of the figure laid on the bed and the King looked at the figure. It was not a servant but Sir Munkustrap, his head bowed before him. His eyes darted over to Sir Tugger who stood there, and Sir Alonzo who was holding the lady in waiting Victoria. The king sat up, his drowsy mind drifting away and a mind of clear crystal replaced it.  
  
"What is the matter, what has happened, are my daughters safe?" he covered all the subjects he could think of that time, hoping it was none of the above. Munkustrap looked to Tugger who just motioned for him to say what had token place. Munkustrap bit his lip and addressed his king.  
  
"Princess Demeter has been captured. We do not know how it could have happened, for there are guards around her room twenty-four seven, but it seemed either the guards had disappeared or had just been lazy last night for there were none anywhere this morning when the servants found your daughter missing sir. Her room was in shambles. We've tried to find her, but we have failed to this moment." Deuteronomy was furious and sad. His youngest daughter was missing, guards not doing their duty, and nightmares just overwhelmed the king's head. He gripped the sheets of his bed in his hands and bit his lip.  
  
"Have you sent out a search party yet, do you know who took my daughter?" blurted out Deuteronomy as calmly as he could.   
  
"No, not yet sir we thought..." began Munkustrap who was interrupted suddenly.  
  
"THEN GET TO IT! Its your hides if you can not find my daughter, get out, get out now!" bellowed Deuteronomy pointing to his door. Munkustrap got to his feel quickly as if he had been burned on the knees and bowed slightly, and dashed out the door, Alonzo and Tugger following him. Deuteronomy just sat there, head in his hands. What was he to do? What was he to do?  
  
-  
The knights filtered into the Knights area and collapsed onto chairs. Alonzo sat Victoria gently on a chair, and brushed some of her white hair over her shoulder. He sat and looked at the ground. They all were worried about Princess Demeter, Munkustrap the most since he loved her.  
Yet Alonzo questioned his fellow knight's love for the Princess. He never tried to do anything special for her, like bring her flowers or chocolates like Tugger did for Princess Bombalurina. His mother told him how her husband's dad picked her due to her hard working, and the dowry her father had gave. Alonzo just shook his head. He shouldn't question the love of his friend no matter how much it seemed he didn't love her. His thoughts broke when he heard a soft moan. The Lady in Waiting was finally waking up from her faint. Her clouded blue eyes looked around, confused to why she was in a room with three knights. Alonzo walked over to her and knelt down.  
  
"Are you alright Victoria?" he asked quietly. She nodded, sitting straight in her chair; her blue eyes clear of confusedness as of that moment. That did not last long as they were glossy and wobbly. Alonzo pulled the white queen close, letting her cry into his chest.  
  
"Princess Demeter. My best friend." she sobbed, cried harder and harder. Alonzo tried to calm the queen down as best as he could, looking at the other knights for help.  
  
-  
Etcetera was washing the floor while Electra depoded the peas. While Etcetera was in her sweet land of happy thoughts, Electra was in a totally different place. She had many things on her mind, so many things she wanted to do. She wanted to escape, get away of the place of confinement. She wanted to be free. Yet she couldn't. She had nowhere to go but to be a kitchen kitten. She was an orphan, found by Deuteronomy on his ride on day in the countryside, when all was peaceful times. He decided to turn her over to Jellylorum, to raise her and train her. He also found Etcetera, another obstacle in her way. She couldn't leave Etcetera, she was her best friend. She couldn't leave her to be by herself. Etcetera wouldn't leave anyway; she was to attach to the palace and Tugger. She just couldn't leave her. She sighed, dropping a pea to the ground, and looked up at the ceiling.  
  
-  
Etcetera was humming, still hyped up about Tugger touching her. She was off in her own little dream world, filled with clouds and Tugger. A soft sigh came from her lips, as she was on her hands and knees cleaning the floor. She twirled on her knees; her eyes closed, and began to clean again bumping into the legs of Electra. Electra screamed, Etcetera knocking her legs from under her, the peas escaping and clashing into the ground. Electra lay on her back, a whole bunch of peas scattered across the floor and herself, her legs propped up against the body of Etcetera. Etcetera bit her lip, an expression of 'oops' on her face. A soft growl came from Electra's throat as a figure approached them.  
  
"Etcetera! Electra! What has happened here?!" exclaimed Jellylorum, the other servants watching on.  
  
"Etcetera did it all! I was shelling the peas and she took my legs out from under me!" spat Electra, angry and frustrated. A half an hours worth of peas were on the floor!  
  
"You weren't paying attention when I did that. If you did you would have caught yourself." protested Etcetera. Electra never tattled on her, they always took the blame together and usually got out of things. Jellylorum sighed.   
  
"Lets just hope Deuteronomy doesn't find out since I should punish you, but I have the heart not to. Just do not do it again. If I get beaten because of you two, you will not be able to sit down for a week, understand?" she asked, a soft growl to her words. The kittens nodded, fearful of what might happen. Jellylorum left and went back to looking after everyone. Electra and Etcetera looked at each other. They busted out into giggles and hugged each other. They could never stay mad at each other for very long, no matter what the situation. They smiled and went back to their duties. Exotica had been watching and sighed. She hated it here. She looked at the letter in her paws. She kissed it and held it to her chest. 'Soon,' she thought, 'soon I hope.'  
-  
The wind blew roughly, tossing the matted hair in the wind. Dust and ashes danced in circles around the walking figure as it moved through the ghost like town. Bodies, bodies everywhere, laying everywhere burnt so badly you couldn't tell who they were. Very few cats were standing and looking around. They were burnt badly like the others, but they where still alive. At lest she wasn't the only one alive. She ran to a heap on the ground and fell to her knees, ashes rising up to the sky like they had been called by God to come and see him. The figure was barely breathing, most of her fur burnt off of her. The queen in her arms looked exactly like herself just a little bit different fur patterns. They were twins, and they both were hurting deep inside. The oldest one, who was in the youngest ones arms, bit her lip gently.  
"Jemima…" she spoke softly, hoarse and rasped. Jemima's eyes were filled with tears. She knew what was coming. The tears streamed gently down her face.  
  
"Sillabub… Sillabub, please hang on! We'll get you a doctor; we'll save you. Please Sillabub PLEASE!" Jemima cried, holding back the sob stuck in her throat. "You're the only one left, Sillabub, please," she whimpered. "Please…" Sillabub shook gently in her twin's arms, tears gently rolling down her cheeks.  
  
"I'll be with you like the sun dear sister…" she spoke softly, looking up at Jemima. "Now and forever…" she spoke. Jemima began to cry more as she felt her sister go limp. Jemima held Sillabub close, her head resting on her chest.   
  
"My dear sister… you will be with me… now and forever…" she spoke softly, stroking her sister's head.   
She sat there for a good half an hour, holding her limp sister, rocking back and forth with soft sobs. The effects of her being an orphan struck her like a slap on the face. The few cats that survived were looking through the ruins, trying to find things of value they could sell or trade for at the market place at the castle. A gentle hand was placed on Jemima's shoulder, her head snapping up. She looked up and noticed the same knight.  
"I am sorry about your loss. We will take you to the castle." he said. Jemima just looked up at him and gave a nod. She'd do anything to get out of this haunting town, just anything. She slowly stood up and was swept up onto the horse the knight was on. She was surprised and looked over at him and turned her head away. His arms circled around her waist and handled the reigns, sending a flick of the wrist to start the steed into motion. It snorted and went into a run, the other knights following. Jemima just looked at the horses' mane as the mighty animal galloped the opposite direction of the castle…  
-  
The forest never liked to be disturbed, never in its life. It was a lonely forest, and never liked company. It hated when people decided to try to get through it, and tried to stop anyone with anything. It was big and dark. The black stallion walked through the forest, snorting as he went. He didn't like being in here, the forest gave him an eerie feeling. He heeled and pawed at the ground with his hoof. He sensed something, yet the rider urged the beast forward. He neighed loudly, his head bobbing up and down, but the knight dug his heels into the side of him and he began to walk again. The knight just looked at the sleeping figure that lay between his arms. Her hair was past her waist and was loose. Some of her hair dangled over his arms as she lay there. She was just beautiful and he was to have her, if she fell in love with him or if he had to take matters into his own hands. The stallion came to a sudden stop, his ears twitching and began to look around. Something was wrong…  
Yes, there was something wrong. The rider looked around… he could feel it. Yet, what was the matter? He began to look around, the hilt of the sword at the fingertips of his hand. He heard a soft hissing sound then a sliding noise. Could it be? He began to look around until he felt a jerk in the body he held and his head snapped to his side. A snake had come out and struck, pulling on the sleeve of the sleeping gown of his prisoner. The snake had ripped into the sleeve and two little dots were on the victim's upper arm. He growled and grabbed the hilt of his sword and pulled it out carefully, not wanting to harm the princess. He glared at the serpent as it rose and glared at him. With a swift swing of his sword the snake's head was laying on the ground with its headless body. The rider just laughed as the princess gave a low moan. He looked at the queen in his arms. She was about to wake up.  
-  
The trees made a deep dark canopy, the path a head of them totally black. The hooves seem to be in a hurry, for they were at a gallop. Darkness was upon them, not showing anything but a deep colored path. In front of them seemed to get lighter and lighter, a semi bright light shining. A heavy pant was heard from the galloping horse, and a jerk in the body of the sleeping figure. Loud moans were heard as the stallion pulled back as he finally reached the bright spot of the forest. Everything was lush and bright, completely contradicting the rest of the forest. A small waterfall fell gently into a pool of water. More moans came from the sleeping figure, and her body jerked and she fell to the ground. Her eyes shot opened and she scratched at the ground. Her eyes were full of pain. The snake had been poisonous; the venom was of different than she had ever felt for she had been bitten several times before. It burned, and it felt like it was burning all inside her. She cried out in pain, her eyes glazing over and almost everything going white…  
The knight hoped of his horse and knelt down next to the moaning queen. He rolled her jerking body onto her back, and grabbed several herbs from near by and began to chew them in his mouth. He held down the princess's arms so she wouldn't get away. He leaned over and placed the chewed up herbs on the two dots on her arm and smeared it in with his finger. He repeated what he did several times, for the venom had came upon faster than he had expected. Soon the princess calmed down, her eyes turning back to its emerald green. Her chest heaved up and down as she took in several breaths of air. She found herself in his arms, his upper arm caressing her head her long hair sprawled everywhere. She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his.   
  
"Who are you?" she asked softly.  
  
"You're knight in shining armor my dear lady," his baritone voice answered.   
  
-  
As the sky turned from a sky blue to a canvas or purples, oranges, pinks, and light, light blue, the stars began to peak out. A soft chill settled over the quiet land, owls softly hooting for they were about to go out and catch their prey. The land had grown still and silent. The castle turned cold and a small servant walked toward a large room and peaked in. A large rounded cat sat at the head of the table, his head in his hands. Three knights sat around the table. A slim red female was crying into a younger white queen's shoulder, the white queen comforting her. It had been a disaster once she had found out…  
  
-  
  
_Bombalurina sat in her room in front of the mirror, placing a flower behind her ear. She hummed softly to herself, the day going perfect. She rose from her seat and leaned against the windowsill. The village below seemed to bustle about their average ways. She sighed softly but smiled. She sat down once again and checked herself over. Her knight Tugger was suppose to come and check on her today. She giggled softly like a little girl in love. Her knight, Tugger, and that is all she needed. She heard her chamber door open. She whirled around.  
  
"Tugger?" she gasped, but no, it was not Tugger. In the doorway stood a tall white and black figure, a white queen entangled in blue silk sprawled in his arms. "Alonzo." she said surprised.   
  
"I'm sorry, I thought you were-"  
  
"I know who you thought I was, I am not blind." he spoke softly, his eyes cast away. His heart for a long time had been for the beautiful princess Bombalurina, but he knew he could not grasp her, ever in his wildest dreams. Her heart was for Tugger and had always been for him. "May I lay Lady Victoria down on your bed?" he asked softly. Bombalurina gave a small nod, and the white figure fluttered to the bed and rested.   
  
"Is she fainted?" she asked. Alonzo nodded as he sat on the bed and placed a wet cloth on her forehead. "Why?"   
  
"Of what she found." was all he spoke.   
  
"What did she find?"  
  
"Demeter's room in shambles…"he said quietly. A small gasp was heard.  
  
"What…what did you say?" she stuttered.   
  
"You're sister is gone Bombalurina, someone took her, and we believe it was Prince Macavity. We are sure it was him. I'm sorry…" Bombalurina hit the ground knees first and took deep breaths. It couldn't be, her sister couldn't have been kidnapped. It must be a mistake…a harmless mistake. But it wasn't she knew that. The tears sprung to her eyes as she began to cry, the table supporting her almost limp figure. Her baby sister was missing._  
  
-  
Victoria rubbed the sobbing queen's back, her own tears streaming down her face but more quietly. Demeter was her best friend, and she was sorry to see her missing, and felt awful about it. She rocked Bombalurina gently.  
  
"What is to be done about Princess Demeter my lord?" she asked softly, looking at Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy looked up from his cupped paws. His gray eyes were red and tired. Most of the day he had been crying. Sorrow filled his heart for Demeter was his little angel, and he didn't like that she had been taken away. Demeter was his heir and his baby. He sighed and looked at the white queen holding his eldest daughter.   
  
"I'm not sure..."he said softly. Victoria sighed and Bombalurina pulled away. Alonzo sat up from his slouched position.   
  
"Why don't we send out someone to find her?" he suggested. Munkustrap looked at Deuteronomy and said, "That is a good idea sir... I suggest that Tugger, Alonzo, and myself go and find her." he suggested. Deuteronomy looked at Munkustrap and gave a nod of his head.   
  
"Alright, if you feel it is your right to go and find my daughter, you may leave as soon as you want. I suggest you a nice bed rest before you leave," the King said. Munkustrap stood up and nodded.  
  
"Yes sir." he said. Alonzo and Tugger stood up. Alonzo grabbed Victoria's hand and helped her up. Victoria curtsied and followed Alonzo, her arm linked with his as they walked toward their separate rooms to sleep for the night.  
  
-  
Horses snorted as the group came to a halt near a boarder line of trees. The trees were as tall as mountains to their eyes. The horsemen began to dismount and began to set up camp. A female was helped down off of a horse and her big innocent eyes looked around. She was scared and frightened. She had never been away from her home before; never in her life she was without her family. But now her family was dead, and there was nothing to be done about it. The tom that had stopped her from finding her parents dismounted after her and put a hand on her shoulder.   
  
"You may have my tent. I shall camp under the stars," he said. She looked up at him.   
  
"Thank you" she said softly, looking up at the knight. "Thank you for everything." The knight was surprised by the kind words of the fiery female, but just gave a nod.   
  
"It is my duty to make sure everyone in King Deuteronomy's kingdom is safe." was his response as he went and began to set up his tent.   
  
-  
The wind was cold as it blew gently. She stood there, her hands rubbing her arms as her wind blew gently. The moon was hidden behind the clouds and the countryside was dark. Amber, oranges, and gold appeared in her eyes as she looked toward where they had started the campfire. She walked toward it and put her hands over the fire. The other knights were gathered around, the fire heating their hands.   
  
"Where are we going? This certainly is not the way to the castle." Jemima said quietly, looking at the others.   
  
"We are going to see an old friend in the forest somewhere. Do not fret, we'll get to the castle soon enough." Carbucketty spoke as he got up and retired to his tent. Tumblebrutus came from his tent and put a hand on Jemima's shoulder. She looked up at him.   
  
"You can tuck in now Miss Jemima, your tent is ready." She looked up at him.   
  
"Thank you." she whispered and headed to the tent. Before she closed the entrance she looked out and noticed him begin to strip down for bed. The flap closed and all was still except for the fire in the middle of the camp.   
-  
The forest was darker than before due to the setting of the sun. A small fire was shown, dancing on a delicate queen face. The knight had already set up a tent and he looked toward the sitting queen.   
  
"Are you feeling better my dear?" The queen looked up and gave a small nod. "Why don't you speak my beauty?"   
  
"Because, you kidnapped me and took me from my family! You took me from my friends, my life! What do you want with me?" Demeter pleaded, looking up at the Napoleon of crime, her eyes glossy. Macavity knelt in front of the vixen and cupped her chin in his hands.   
  
"My dear, so I have to explain my reasons? You are gorgeous and deserve a prince like myself. Besides, I am quite fond of you…" Demeter jerked her head away and glared at him.  
  
"Stay away from me you demon… stay away!" she hissed. "I rather die before I married you. "she spat. Macavity glared at her but yanked her up.  
  
"It is time for bed. You find it best not to run for this is a magical forest and doesn't take kindly to strangers roaming its wood during the dead of night." he said, pushing her into the tent. She fell to the ground, grabbing the pillow and looked up at him. He went to his tent and she sighed. She curled up and her small body shook as she sobbed into her pillow, lonely, scared. The owl hooted in the night, everything silent but for the soft sobs of the lost princess.


	2. Across the Land

**Chapter 2:** Across the Land

The sun kissed the hills of the distant mountains. As the sun began to rise over the mountains, sunbeams hit a stone castle. Ivy ran up the towers of the castle, making it seem like it had been run down for a long time. There was life in the castle, though. On the balcony of one of the towers stood a female. She was bent over, her elbows resting on the railing of the balcony, her orange hair with black, red, and white highlights dancing in the cool breeze. Her distant eyes stared out across the land, wanting to be free. She was a princess, yet this wasn't her land to rule. She was Princess Rumpleteazer, the daughter of a dead royalty line and was given to her aunt, Queen Griddlebone. She had appeared as a a child after the land of her parents were taken over and everyone destroyed. She had been sent to her aunt before the war got to out of hand to stay. Queen Griddlebone had welcomed her with open arms, but King Growltiger did not. He had treated the young queen poorly, and paid attention to his son and heir, Prince Macavity. Once news reached the castle that Rumpleteazer's parents had been murdered and the country had been taken over, Rumpleteazer was devastated. Queen Griddlebone had decided to adopted the child, but Growltiger would have no part of the girl. Rumpleteazer stayed in her room most of the time, trying to stay out of the sight of her uncle. Macavity cared for her, treating her as a sister to him, but would no show it in front of his father. Growltiger and Griddlebone loved sailing and not to long ago they had set sail once again. Griddlebone bid farewell to her adopted daughter and her son. Before she left, she told Rumpleteazer to be strong and kissed the top of her head. Growltiger had bid farewell to his son, but ignored the girl. The castle was divided in liking the princess. The ones under Growltiger's hand had been told to keep the princess in her chambers and to treat her as rude as they could, but not to kill her for Griddlebone loved her to much. He had threatened to kill anyone who did not obey his orders. The King and Queen left to sail off two years ago and they had not returned since. It had been rumored that the Siamese were on the waters when the two sailed off, but no one could verify the source.

Rumpleteazer was alone and unloved. She so wished to go out of her chambers to run around, but she knew Macavity would not let her. Then it struck her. Macavity was not to return until later that evening. She smiled brightly as she turned and ran into her room. She slipped her shoes on and walked over to the door. She opened it slightly, looked out, and opened the door all the way. She slipped out and shut the door. She looked around and began to run down the corridor. Her heels clicked on the stone floor as she ran through the halls. She came upon the stairs and flew down them as fast as she could, giggling on the inside but showed a smile on the outside. She slid a bit at the bottom, but she caught her self and stopped. She straighted out the skirts of her dress as she caught her breath. A soft grumble was heard and Rumpleteazer giggled softly. She hadn't ate anything since the night before. A trip to the kitchen seemed to be at hand.

Rumpleteazer made her way to the kitchen and entered in slowly. She could smell the food for dinner that night cooking away. They always prepared the best for the prince. No one seemed to be around and she walked around. She noticed a loaf of fresh bread sitting on the counter, cooling. She loved the taste of fresh bread and walked over to the counter top. She reached down and grabbed it. She took a deep breath and sighed from delight. She spotted some cheese to the side of it and went to grab it, but a hand wrapped around her wrist and she twirled around. One of the cooks were glaring down at her. Rumpleteazer's chest began to race as she looked up at the cook with fearful eyes.

"What are you doing down here?" he growled, tightening his grip on her wrist.

"I... I was hungry..." Rumpleteazer whimpered softly.

"It is not dinner time and you aren't allowed to be out of your chambers while King Growltiger is away," he growled. "I might have to teach you a lesson by taking your hand." Rumpleteazer gasped and jerked her arm away from the cook when he began to loosen his grip. She dropped the bread and ran out of the kitchen, scared for her life. She ran down the hallway and up the stairs, tripping up the stairs and hitting them hard. She let out a small gasp but got up and continued to run. Her eyes were filled with tears from fright and pain. She ran past a cat dressed in black robes, blending in perfectly with his fur. He watched her run past him, a stream of tears escaping her eyes and falling to the floor.

"Princess Rumpleteazer..." he said softly.

Rumpleteazer flung herself onto her bed and began to cry. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her heaving body. She was doomed to die in her room, she knew that she would never be let out of her hell hole. She just wanted to die right then and there. Her body went in violent heaves as she cried hard, pain in her heart and in her body. She felt her bed sink down and the present of a body near her. A gentle hand settled on her heaving arm and she shivered at the touch.

"Princess Rumpleteazer..." spoke the tenor voice. It was soft and soothing.

"Mistoffelees..." she spoke softly, her voice trembling and raspy.

"What ails you dear one?" he asked, his hand running down her hair, the silky strands tangling in his fingers. She said nothing. "Do you care for me to stay?" Silence yet again. Mistoffelees sighed and slowly got up from the bed and exited out of the room. Rumpleteazer still held her pillow, but squeezed it tightly and sobbed out a whisper, as a little child would do when they were scared.

"Mistoffelees... please.. come back..." Halfway down the hall Mistoffelees stopped as if he heard the scared queens plead... but he kept on walking, leaving the princess to her tears.

Mistoffelees made his way up to the tallest tower of the castle. He entered his room, it dark and mystic. Candles burned around his room, a black curtain covering the window. A crow stood on his post, eating the food Mistoffelees left for him. He magician walked over to his table and sat down, looking down at the letter he had been writing. The crow flew over and landed on Mistoffelees' shoulder. Mistoffelees stroked the head of the animal gently as he read over the letter. He folded it up and slid it into an envelope. The crow waited patiently as the letter was tied onto his leg. Mistoffelees opened the curtain as light of the day flooded into the room.

"Go my dear, take this letter to my love." he spoke softly. The crow cawed and flew out of the room. Mistoffelees watched as the crow made his way to the kingdom of Deuteronomy. "Exotica my love, I will be with you again. I promise you this." The magician closed the curtains and made his way over to his bed. He sat upon it as he looked up. He would be with his love again, not even the Heavyside would keep him away.

"Did you hear all those screams in that town? It was like music to my ears," said a gruff looking knight as he sipped a cup of water. Three knights sat around a burning fire. One nodded, laughing while the other stared off into space. While he was staring off into space, he noticed a glimmer of blue in the distance. Gilbert knew what it was... it was water. The sea. Gilbert longed to be on the sea again but couldn't because he had been beaten by Genghis. Gilbert used to be the leader of the Siamese and was going to attack Growltiger but was challenged by Genghis and was beaten. Ashamed, Gilbert had fled to the mainland and begged to be apart of Growltiger's crew. He changed his name to Gil, hoping he wouldn't be recognized by Growltiger. He was lucky that he wasn't recognized as the past leader. He hoped he would go with Growltiger so he could take his revenge on Genghis and destroy Growltiger at the same time. Alas, he was stuck with two younger toms named Pouncival and Bill Bailey. Gilbert sighed and poked at the ground.

"Don't you think so Gil?" asked Bill Bailey, jabbing Gilbert with a stick. He looked up at the younger tom.

"Huh?" he asked.

"Don't you think that seeing those stupid villagers burn in that fire was well worth sticking around?"

"Yeah... of course." Pouncival hit Bill Bailey in the shoulder.

"Hey you mutt, thats my piece of meat!" he exclaimed.

"Like hell it is, its mine." retorted Bill Bailey, scarfing the meat down. Pouncival pounced on his partner and began to wrestle with him.

"Give it, give it!" Gilbert snickered as he looked out across the land. His nose twitched and he got up.

"Guys, get your arses up, we need to move out..." The two toms looked at the older knight.

"Why?" asked Pouncival.

"Because... There are horses no more than two miles away just waiting to go and they probably passed the burnt town... And we need to get to back to the castle to get our next orders..." Gilbert said, walking over to his horse and mounted it. "Don't forget to put out the fire." The two younger toms looked at each other. They put out the fire and mounted their horses and started off toward the castle.

_I'll be with you... now and forever..._

Jemima couldn't sleep. Images of her mother.. her father... her sister.. burning.. She couldn't take it. What was she to do? She couldn't sleep... she couldn't get the horrible images out of her head. Her hands clutched her ears, her eyes squeezing tight.

_Ignore them... ignore everything... I can't do anything now.. they are gone.. they are gone. _

_Are you sure?_

Jemima trembled. _Yes.. I'm sure.. they are gone! Stop talking to me! Leave me alone!_

Jemima gave a whimper. Why wouldn't the voice leave her head.. the one that haunted her throughout the night, the one making her feel pain.. making her wish she was with her family. She sniffed, blinking her eyes. She was tired... oh so tired. Her body felt weak... she needed sleep... Her eyes closed slowly, finally exhaustion setting in.. Sleep... sleep..

"Get up," said a voice, hands grabbing her shoulders. "Up I say," Jemima wiggled, grumbling to herself.

"Leave me alone." she mumbled, "I'm tired, let me sleep," she whispered, her eyes still closed.

"We need to get ready to ride off, we have no time to be lazy Ms Jemima," said the voice, shaking her. Tumblebrutus was kneeling before her, trying to wake the sleepy queen. She was beginning to get on his nerves, he was starting to wish that he had left her there at the burning village.

"Five minutes, thats all I ask," she said clearly, her eyes slowly opening. She felt here body being pulled up quickly, hands strong and gripping on her arms. They squeezed. She let out a cry. "What are you doing?" she gasped.

"You are getting up now," he said. Jemima looked up at him, her eyes full of tears.

"You're hurting me! Please let go!" she cried, her chest beginning to heave. Her body hurt, and she didn't want to feel pain.. especially from someone who was suppose to be looking out for her. Tumblebrutus looked at her, his eyes loosening... He didn't mean to hurt her... he just wanted her up. Jemima fell back to the ground, curling up into a ball, crying softly.

"I just wanna be alone.." she whispered. Tumblebrutus turned and walked out of the tent, his eyes cast down. He shouldn't have been so rough with her... she had just lost her whole life. He clutched his fist. Why.. why must he be so rough?

"Hey Tumblebrutus... what happened in there?" asked Carbucketty, looking up from taking a bite of breakfast.

"Nothing... get everything ready, we are leaving within the hour," said Tumblebrutus, glancing at the tent. He shook it off and walked over to where he had slept and began to pack everything up.

"Right," said Carbucketty, pouring a bucket of water onto the fire.

The land was bright, and green, though inside the castle it was not. Three horses neighed, their hooves pounding at the ground. They knew they had an important job to do, and they were up to it. The squires began to tend to the horses, strapping on their saddles, putting on their reins, making sure everything was okay.

"Be careful with him, he's starting to dislike that saddle," said Munkustrap, watching the young squire saddle his steed.

King Deuteronomy watched, his daughter, Bombalurina, and lady in waiting Victoria at his side. Victoria watched on, her hands clasped together. Her brother would be leaving her, and she feared he may not come back. She held back her tears, she didn't want him to see her cry before he left. She wanted him to see her happy.. in case he would never return. Munkustrap turned and looked at the King, Tugger and Alonzo on either side of him.

"The fastest way to get to Macavity's castle is to go through the dark forest... Its dangerous so do no let your guard down. Don't go through it at night, it is the most dangerous at night," explained the King, looking at the three ready nights.

"Yes your majesty," responded Munkustrap, bowing, the other two following in suit. Victoria walked over to Alonzo and kissed his cheek gently.

"Be careful brother," she whispered. Alonzo smiled and gave Victoria a hug.

"Do not worry, I'll come back safe," he said into her ear. Victoria closed her eyes as she was embraced but felt him pull away.

"You be careful," said Bombalurina, hugging onto Tugger.

"Ah, careful? I'm a knight, I live for danger," he said, patting Bombalurina's head. "I expect a great meal once I get home, better start cooking on it sweetheart," he said, tickling Bombalurina under her chin. Alonzo watched as Bombalurina smiled and looked down at the ground. _Forget her..._ Bombalurina gave a gentle smile to Tugger and watched as the three knights galloped off.

_Be safe... please bring back my daughter..._ Thought King Deuteronomy, watching the dust settle down to the earth.

"Eeee!" squealed Etcetera, her nose pressed against the window. She watched the three knights ride off, her tail waving back and forth in delight. "They are going to save the princess.. I must tell Electra they left!" She hopped off the crate she had been standing on, almost tripping over her feet. _Whoops! I need to be more careful!_

Peck peck!

Etcetera turned around, her ears twitching. What was with the pecking? She blinked as she saw a black crow ruffling its feathers on the window sill. Etcetera climbed back up on the crate.

"You silly bird.. what do you have there?" she asked herself, opening the window. The crow hopped into the room, dropping the addressed envelope onto the table. It squeaked, obviously hungry from its long flight. Etcetera pulled out a couple crumbs from her pockets, handing it out to the bird. The crow squawked, nabbing the crumb, and flying out the window. Etcetera picked up the envelope and turned it around.

"What does this say?" she asked herself. The letters ran together, the only thing she could understand was X. "Hmm.. X.. Oh! It must be for Tica!" she said. She giggled, turning the envelope around looking at the seal. She wanted to open it... she was awfully curious.. She sighed, her ears drooping. It wouldn't matter, she couldn't read it anyway. :"Thats no fun.. stupid people who can read and write..." she muttered. She hopped off the box again and ran through the kitchen.

Etcetera skipped up the corridor stairs, humming softly to herself. She noticed the dark colored female in front of her.

"Exotica!" she shouted. Exotica turned around, her broom in hand.

"Yes?" she asked, curiously

"You got a letter," Etcetera said, handing a letter to her. Exotica looked at the letter. She noticed the handwriting on the envelope and grabbed it.

"Thank you," she said quickly, turning her back. Etcetera's eyes danced and she smiled. She peered over Exotica's shoulder, trying to see if she was going to open it.

"Is it from..." Exotica almost jumped at the presence of the girl next to her.

"From who?" asked Exotica, annoyance in her voice.

"A lover?" whispered Etcetera, bouncing up and down. Exotica's eyes widen for a second then she rolled them.

"No, its from my aunt," She lied. Etcetera settled down and looked at Exotica.

"Okay, okay, whatever you say Tica. Say hello to your _aunt_ for me." cooed Etcetera and she turned around and bounced back off to the kitchen so she wouldn't get in trouble. Exotica watched as the kitten scurried off and she looked around. She walked over to a hidden corner and sat down. She wrapped her arm around the broom so it wouldn't fall and began to tear at the envelope. She pulled out the paper and closed her eyes. She brought the parchment to her nose and sniffed it. It smelt like him..

"Mistoffelees..."she whispered as she opened the letter. Her eyes danced over the neat handwriting.

_My Dearest Love,_

_It has been hard here in the castle, knowing you are over there in our rival's territory. I think it was a horrible thing. I think about you every day and I count down the days that we will be together once more. I know there is no set day, but inside I can feel that we will be together soon. You do not deserve to be over there, and if it was my decision, you'd be here by my side like you once were before you were torn from me. I blame Growltiger, for he never really looked high upon me so that meant he didn't give a rats tail about you, but with Growltiger gone I know we will be together. The servants in the castle are waiting for the return of their glorious King, but I know that he will never show again... and once this is realized, I will be there for you if not sooner. Until we can be together my love..._

_Love, Mistoffelees_

Butterflies danced inside of Exotica, making her cheeks red and a smile spread across her face. She kissed the letter and folded it up and shoved the parchment down her shirt. If anyone were to get a hold of her letter, there would be trouble. She stood up and exited from the dark corner to get back to her chores. She believed in her mate, and would wait one hundred years if it meant they would be together again.

Darkness was all around her. That is what she wanted... darkness. She felt her body begin to shake. _Leave me be... I like the darkness... leave me be..._ The shaking began to get harder and faster and finally the princess opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred but soon everything came into focus, especially the man who was standing over her... Macavity. Demeter opened her mouth to let out a frightful scream, but Macavity muffled her voice, his eyes going from gentle to cold in less than a second.

"Don't scream," he said gently, "for if you do, the creatures of this forest will think you area dying creature. They'd surround you and eat you in a heartbeat... so keep your voice down and no screaming." he finished. Demeter nodded and Macavity pulled his hand away from her mouth. Demeter looked at him. Something was different... he wasn't as cold as he was before... he actually seemed nice. Her nose picked up a scent and she looked over him. Her stomach growled loudly and Macavity grinned a bit but kept it hidden.

"You hungry Princess?" he purred. Demeter looked at him and gave a nod. No matter how nice he was acting, she still didn't want anything to do with him. She watched as Macavity fixed her a plate of food and handed it over to her. She took it and began to eat, turning away from Macavity. Macavity watched her and surveyed her. He was already starting to get to her... and it made him extremely happy. He fixed himself a small plate and began to eat silently, his eyes watching the Princess. Getting her to love him might not be as hard as he planned, with him acting so nice to her, but he still needed help to make it go faster. He began to think on how he could get her to fall in love with him so fast. Then it struck her. _My magician... I can get Mistoffelees to help me... why didn't I think of this before? Macavity, you are a smart cat_. Macavity got up, putting his plate into the empty cooking pot. He threw it into a satchel and threw it over his horse's back. Demeter looked up at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked, curious on the sudden movement of Macavity. Macavity grabbed her by the wrist, taking the plate and putting it into the satchel as well.

"We are leaving, we must get to my castle by twilight," explained Macavity. He moved quickly, packing up the tent and he mounted his horse, pulling the Princess up after him. He clicked his heels against his steed and the horse neighed, going into a trout. Demeter held onto the mane of the horse and looked in front of her. She didn't want to pay attention to Macavity on the way to his castle... She wanted to go home but knew she wouldn't last a night by herself... Her only hope was that someone was to rescue her.

The sun shone bright over the glimmering prairie. The wind blew, making the grass dance in the wind. The hooves of horses echoed in the air, mixing with the wind and the chirping of birds. A group of horses rode across the land, their eyes surveying their surroundings. The horse in the lead came to a stop, the steed he was riding rearing a bit, upset that his stride was interrupted. The rest of the horses came to a stop.

"What is it Carbucketty?" asked Tumblebrutus, his eyes looking at his partner. Carbucketty looked behind him.

"It's a fire." he said, sliding off his horse. He walked over to it and knelt down to survey it. "It was put out not to long ago... It was probably made by the people who burned down that village..." he explained, his eyes surveying the land. Tumblebrutus' ears twitched.

"They probably did..." he said. He looked around. They didn't have time... no time... "Leave them... They are probably far gone." explained Tumblebrutus. Carbucketty looked at him.

"Are you sure? We could get in trouble for letting them go." explained Carbucketty. He didn't like the idea, but Tumblebrutus was his superior and he didn't want to disobey him.

"Yes... I'm sure." Jemima turned and looked at Tumblebrutus.

"What did you say?" she said, her eyes big. Tumblebrutus looked down at her.

"Are you questioning me?" he asked. Jemima's chest began to heave as she held back her temper, which didn't work very well.

"Those people killed my family, my friends, and you are just going to let him walk!" She clenched her fists, her eyes beginning to tear up.

"We don't have the time to look for them, we are on a tight schedule. Besides, they are far gone, who knows how fast their horses are or even if they were the ones who burnt down the village." explained Tumblebrutus, trying to keep his temper. Jemima began to pound on Tumblebrutus' chest, soft sobs escaping her lips. Tumblebrutus tried to calm her by grabbing her wrists but it didn't work. She tugged away from him and slid off the horse, falling to her knees. She collapsed onto the ground, her sobs becoming louder. She didn't understand why they weren't going after the people who killed her parents, her whole life. She clenched her eyes shut, her hands taking in tuffs of earth into her shaking hands. Tumblebrutus watched the shaken female and his eyes became sad. She was so delicate, he had never encountered a female as her. She had lost everything... she was hurt and he kept adding to her pain. He wasn't being a knight, he was being a jerk. He slid off his horse and knelt down to the shaking body of Jemima. He laid his hand upon her shoulder and spoke softly.

"I know you've lost everything, and I know that I am not helping. I'm being more of a jerk at the moment than a knight, but what I'm doing is what is the best thing to do and I don't mean to hurt you. We have to meet someone... and time is running short, I'm afraid that I'm going to lose her and I keep putting that in front and shrugging everything to the side," explained Tumblebrutus. He felt her body stop her shaking and untensed. She looked up at him, and felt as his hand brushed the tears away from her cheeks. He cupped her cheek and stared down into her sadden eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything," he said. Jemima looked back at him and found herself embracing him. She closed her eyes and whimpered softly. Tumblebrutus was thrown off, he wasn't expecting that. He figured he'd get an _okay_ or _you jerk_ but not a hug. His arms wrapped around her and held her to him.

"I forgive you.." she whispered.

Three horses neigh at the same time, one of them dipping their nose into the ice blue stream. The other two neigh, stomping their hooves. It was mid afternoon and the sun was high in the sky. A night laid under a shady tree, already taking a nap. Two other knights were sitting near him, both taking a load off. Tugger smiled as he took a bite into a piece of bread.

"A knight going to the rescue of a Princess, what a wonderful story," cooed Tugger, taking another piece of bread and shoving it into his mouth. Alonzo looked at him, his blue eyes watching him.

"Speaking of Princesses..." he started, "how close are you and Princess Bombalurina?" he asked. Tugger glanced over at Alonzo and gave a grin.

"I like her, she's a really fine piece of work. Nice red fur, brilliant eyes, a nice bum, everything I look for in a girl and believe me, I can have any girl I wanted, the Princess should be honored," explained Tugger. "Don't know if I'd marry her though... Thinking about being tied down just doesn't suit me," he explained. Alonzo looked at Tugger. While he talked, something inside of him stirred but it felt different than what it had been whenever he first knew that Bombalurina was after Tugger and vice versa.. it was... a lot tamer...

"If you harm her, I'm going to cut your friends off and feed them to your squire's dog," said Alonzo. Tugger's eyes went wide and he grinned.

"Settle down kid, you don't have to be so violent. Don't bring my friends into this either, they have feelings too," said Tugger.

"Will you two shut up!" cried a third voice. The two knights looked over at the sleeping tom and Munkustrap rubbed his head. "Must you two keep going on and on? Some of us have throbbing headaches you know," he explained, rubbing his head. Alonzo shook is head.

"You probably shouldn't have been drinking your sorrows off last night," explained Alonzo. Munkustrap grumbled.

"It's none of your business." said Munkustrap. Alonzo shook his head again. He could tell Munkustrap cared for Princess Demeter a lot, but he questioned his devotion. When the two would have fights, Munkustrap would either drink heavily that night or find one of the wine wenches and have a go with them. Alonzo felt that if Munkustrap wanted to be dedicated to the Princess, he would try to make up with her than drinking away his problems or finding someone to hold him over to get over the pain. The Princess deserved someone better than that... she really did. Alonzo was brought out of his thoughts when Tugger said,

"Hey, I think we better get going. Its getting closer and closer to twilight and we need to get farther than we are at by nightfall. Lets go," Alonzo rolled his eyes, that was the first thing that Tugger had said that actually meant something to their quest. Alonzo got up and grabbed his horse. The three of them mounted their horses and made their way towards the forest.

Old Deuteronomy sat at his throne, his hand caressing his head. All that he could think of was his daughter and if she was okay or not. To his left was his eldest daughter, Bombalurina. Bombalurina had her head resting in her hand as well, a tissue in her hand as well. Ever since the knights left, she would go into small crying fits then stop then about thirty minutes later they would come along again. A white hand was upon her scarlet shoulder. Lady in Waiting Victoria stayed by the Princesses side, being one of Bombalurina's close friends... Another female stood next to Victoria, her chocolate fur sleek and brilliant. Her golden eyes was fixed upon the Princess. This was Cassandra, the her Lady in Waiting that was close to Princess Bombalurina. Cassandra was close to Demeter too, but she didn't have the bond that Victoria had with both sisters. Inside, Cassandra always envied Victoria, because she could get close to anyone, and she wasn't able to, no matter how hard she tried. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a _poof_ and a cloud of smoke appeared. The rest of the people in the hall looked up and noticed a black cat with a white chest, tips of ears, forearms, one leg and tip of tail. He was dressed in dark blue robes, they almost matched the shine of his fur. His brilliant green eyes danced with happiness. He made his way up to King Deuteronomy and bowed.

"I know that you have been feeling down lately, so I felt, as your magician, to come and cheer you up!" he said.

"That is a wonderful idea, please, do your best Quaxo," said King Deuteronomy. Quaxo smiled and backed up. He started with pulling out three balls. He began to juggle them and soon switched from two hands to one hand juggling them. After a while of juggling them, every other ball began to disappear as he juggled. He tossed up the balls and they exploded into sparkles. There was a soft applause as he held out his arms and doves flew from his sleeves. A soft giggle was heard from one or two of the queens. He held up his hands and smiled.

"Now, I will make one of the lovely ladies in this room disappear. I am going to spin around and snap my fingers and the female with the flower in her hair will be my assistant." he explained. He began to spin and he snapped his fingers. He stopped spinning and opened his eyes. He watched as the females reached to their ears. Victoria's face began to blush as she pulled the flower from her ear. She looked at Bombalurina and she gave Victoria a heartful smile. Victoria walked over to Quaxo and smiled at him. A box appeared and Quaxo took Victoria's hand. He helped her into the box and closed it. He said a few words and tapped the box. He opened it up and tipped it over. He picked up the box and there was no one there. He showed the inside of the box to the court that was there and they clapped. Bombalurina began to clap louder, a few _wow, how did he do that_ comments coming from her lips.

"Victoria, will you please step out?" called Quaxo. King Deuteronomy looked around but felt something touch his hand. He looked and smiled as he watched Victoria step out from behind the throne. Deuteronomy smiled and took her hand and kissed it gently. She returned the smile and she felt her other hand being grabbed and she felt herself being pulled to the front. Her and Quaxo took a bow and there was soft clapping. An elder orange looking cat waddled out and bowed before King Deuteronomy.

"Sir, lunch is ready," she said.

"Thank you Jennyanydots." he said as Jennyanydots turned and walked towards the kitchen. Deuteronomy clapped his hands and Bombalurina and Cassandra got up. "Shall we?" he said. He walked towards the dinning room, the two Queens behind him. Victoria began to follow but a hand stopped her. She was spun around and felt a body embrace her. She gave a little giggle and looked up at Quaxo.

"Don't you want lunch?" she asked. He shook his head and kissed her nose.

"No, I'm good," he explained. His hand played with the end of her long braided hair and smiled at her.

"Quaxo..." she said softly.

"Mhmm?"

"When are we going to tell them... about us?" she asked, her eyes a little worried. Quaxo smiled and kissed her cheek.

"Soon sweetheart, very soon," he purred. She smiled and pulled away from him. She turned to go to lunch but stopped.

"You sure you don't want lunch?" she asked as she turned around. She cracked a smile as she saw no one behind her. "Silly Tom..." She turned around and walked towards the dinning room. Cassandra stepped out from a corner and looked at her.

"Hello Cassandra," she said, a smile upon her face. It slowly faded as Cassandra just stared at her.

"What is going on between you two?" she asked, her eyes staring at her.

".. Nothing, nothing at all," said Victoria, her voice not stammering. She didn't want to give it away, not at that time. Cassandra didn't seem to like the answer, but she let it go.

"Alright... I'm watching you though.." she said. Cassandra turned around and headed towards the dinning area. She knew Victoria was lying, but that wasn't going to stop her. She was going to get close to the magician, she knew that they would be right for each other, and not him and Victoria.

The sun was beginning to set on the land and everything was beginning to look orange. The wind played with Rumpleteazer's hair as she looked out across the land on her balcony. She sighed softly as she leaned against the railing of her balcony. She missed her mother and her father and she wished they were still alive. She was tired of being treated as a servant, a prisoner instead of a princess. She sighed softly.

"Hello!" cried a voice. A face appeared in front of hers and she screamed, falling backwards. The voice began to laugh and Rumpleteazer got a better look at the Tom. She cracked a smile.

"Mungojerrie..." she said, a giggle escaping her lips. "How did you do that?" she asked. Mungojerrie climbed over the railing and helped her up.

"I climbed up from the window under your balcony... I also practiced several times the past couple of nights... I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of you," he explained, his cheeky grin spreading across his face. His eyes looked curious as he watched as teas began to form in Rumpleteazer's eyes.

"Jerrie..." she said softly, falling into Mungojerrie and wrapping her arms around him. Mungojerrie smiled, wrapping his arms around her.

"Princess.." _Bam!_ Mungojerrie looked at his arm where he had been his and looked at Rumpleteazer.

"I told you, don't call me Princess." she said, a stern look upon her face.

"Yes... Princess," said Mungojerrie. The stern look didn't last long and the two began to laugh loudly. A horn stopped their laughing and a voice calling out _"Prince Macavity has returned!" _snapped them out of their daze. Macavity... Mungojerrie broke away from Rumpleteazer, picking a few things he had dropped when he climbed over the balcony and shoved it under his clothes. Macavity had forbidden him from seeing Rumpleteazer, and he didn't want to be caught now. The two of them raced to the door of Rumpleteazer's room and Mungojerrie looked back at her.

"Hurry," she whispered. He grabbed Rumpleteazer and brought her close to him. His head inched towards hers, Rumpleteazer closing her eyes. The next moment she felt herself standing there alone and she opened her eyes. She looked out her opened door and noticed Mungojerrie was no where to be seen... He did run fast. She leaned against the door frame and sighed. She did wish he would kiss her... he had never done it before...

The sun was almost gone when Macavity reached the front of the castle. Demeter was asleep, her body limp against Macavity's. Macavity pulled on the reigns and his horse bobbed his head. People began to circle around Macavity, the sight of Demeter making them curious. Macavity placed his hand upon Demeter's shoulder and gave it a small shake. Demeter let out a soft groan and opened her eyes. Her eyes blinked and came into focus. She sat up straight and looked around her. There were several elder cats around her, their fur gray and sad looking. They scared her, especially their sunken eyes. Macavity smiled as he watched a shabby looking cat approach him. The cat's red eyes glowed, a smile upon his face. Macavity returned the smile.

"Welcome back Lord Macavity," said the elder cat, his voice tired.

"It's nice to see you outside while the sun is still out Fireforfiddle." commented Macavity, giving a hearty laugh as he slid off the horse. Demeter looked at Fireforfiddle. That was the same Fireforfiddle that gave her father such a hard time years ago... Fireforfiddle's eyes caught Demeter's and he stared into them. Demeter began to become uneasy and scared. She wiggled in the saddle until she felt a hand upon hers. She looked and noticed it was Macavity. He helped her down from the horse and gave the reigns to a young boy.

"Take him back to the stables," said Macavity, patting the young kid upon the head. Demeter watched him and found herself being lead into the castle.

Inside the castle was cold, cold like Macavity's eyes. Demeter felt like she'd never be happy again as they walked through the castle. She didn't know where he was leading her and she didn't care... she just hoped it would be able to make her happy. They stopped suddenly at a door and Macavity opened it. As they entered, a soft orange glow greeted her. The room was warm and dressed in red and golden trimmings. The curtains were drawn back and the last sliver of sunlight vanished and the moon began to take over. Macavity watched as Demeter explored the room and he gave a small smile.

"I will be back to take you to dinner... wait for me," he said and turned his back to her and left. Demeter turned around and watched him leave. Her eyes began to get tears in them and she threw herself down on her bed. Soft sobs began to escape her mouth. She wanted to go home... she wanted to be near her father, her sister, and most of all, Munkustrap. A soft knock came upon her door. Demeter looked up, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Go away!" she shouted. She sat up straight on her bed and looked out towards the window. She watched as an owl flew past, giving a hoot. How she wished she could be an owl right then. She heard a soft creek and she looked behind her. The door to her room opened slowly, and a female poked her head around the door. Demeter looked at her. She was very pretty... but...

"Were you kidnapped and are being held in this horrible place too?" she asked the new queen. The queen shook her head.

"No... I live here unfortunately. I'm Princess Rumpleteazer," said the queen. Demeter's eyes went wide and flew towards the Princess. She wrapped her arms around her waist and cried into Rumpleteazer's chest. Rumpleteazer's eyes went wide for a second, but then turned gentle. She understood... She wrapped her arms around the crying Queen and placed her head upon hers. She understood too well.

"Excuse me?" said Mistoffelees, looking up from petting his crow. Macavity smiled.

"You heard me Mistoffelees, I said I want you to make Demeter fall in love with me," explained Macavity. "I don't have time to win her over... and she won't be won over by me," he explained, taking a seat on Mistoffelees' chair near the window. Mistoffelees ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

"That goes against everything I learned Sire, it goes against my morals," Macavity glared at Mistoffelees and grabbed him by his robes.

"Do you dare talk back to me? I could throw you out on your ass if you wish," hissed Macavity. Mistoffelees gulped and shook his head.

"No sire, I will do as you wish..." Mistoffelees let out a sigh when he was released from Macavity's grip.

"Dinner." and with that Macavity was gone. Mistoffelees shook his head and turned to his crow.

"This isn't going to work very well..." he muttered, petting his friend on the head. "Not at all."

"Did you have a small nap my sweetheart?" asked Macavity as he took a drink from his goblet. Macavity sat his cup down and glanced at it. A young girl was filling up his glass.

"Leave it be Olivia," he hissed. Olivia squeaked and nodded, hurrying back to the kitchen. Macavity turned his attention back to Demeter, who was just sitting there, looking at her goblet. She refused to speak to him, she just wanted to go home. How could she make conversation with a man who kidnapped her and wants her to be his? That wasn't very romantic at all, and went against the Prince Charming tale that she was told since she was little. Macavity gave a soft growl and cleared his throat.

"Summer! Bring out meals," bellowed Macavity. A small brown female nodded and ran off towards the kitchen.

Summer was taken by surprise when she felt someone grab her wrist. She looked at her captured wrist then up at the owner of the hand.

"Magician.." she said softly. Mistoffelees put a finger up to his lips and handed her a vile. She looked at it, noticing little flakes inside.

"What is this?" she asked, her mind beginning to wonder.

"Put that on Princess Demeter's meal," he said, letting go of her wrist.

"Why?" she asked. Mistoffelees rolled his eyes. Why couldn't the scurry maids just do as they were told. Mistoffelees coughed and turned to Summer. He gave a smile and slowly backed her up against the wall. She looked at him, her heart beginning to pound. She felt his breath on her neck and she let out a whimper.

"You do as you're told," he purred, nipping at her ear. Her knees began to wobble and she let out a soft whimper.

"Yes sir," she said, her voice tiny and breathy. Mistoffelees pulled away and straightened his robes. He didn't like doing that, but sometimes making the maids excited made them do as they were told. Summer ran towards the meals and sprinkled the vile into Demeter's food.

"Olivia, come and get Prince Macavity's plate," shouted Summer. Olivia waddled over to them and grabbed the food.

In the dining hall, it was quiet. Macavity tapped his claws on the table. _Where are those stupid girls? If they are doing this to make me mad... they will soon be missing their hands and they will be useless..._ As his thought finished, he saw food in front of him. He smiled and nodded at the two girls.

"Thank you," he said. The two ate in silence. Macavity kept his eye on Demeter, hoping the magician did as he was told. Demeter put her fork down, her head felt funny. She slowly got up and she swayed a bit.

"I think... I need sleep..." she said and turned to walk back to her room. Macavity pushed away from the table and was in tow behind Demeter.

Demeter walked down the hallway and finally found her room. She opened the door and walked in. She stood about five feet into her room, rubbing her head. _I forgot to close the door..._ She turned around and stopped. Macavity stood there, a smile upon his face as he close the door.

"What are yo..." she began, but her eyebrows pushed together. Her stomach felt funny. She put her hand upon her stomach and looked at it. She looked back up at Macavity and her eyes went wide. She felt weird... she felt... attracted towards the evil Prince. Macavity advanced upon her and put his hand upon Demeter's waist and pulled her to him. He brought his lips upon hers and his other hand caressed her head. Demeter closed her eyes but opened them back and pulled away.

"Macavity.." she said, but she didn't want to stop. She felt herself push herself and capture his mouth with hers. She felt a soft purr vibrate from Macavity's throat. Macavity pulled away and smiled.

"Demeter..." he purred and the two fell onto the bed.

The moon was high in the ebony sky, basking everything in silver. A fire was blazing and two people sat around the fire. Carbucketty poked at the fire, watching sparks fly up. Jemima watched the fire. It was cold out, and she felt extremely cold, the fire not helping her at all. She gave a shiver but felt something drape over her shoulders. She looked up, Tumblebrutus looking down at her. She gave a small smile and looked away. Carbucketty threw his stick to the side and looked at Tumblebrutus.

"When are we going to get to our destination?" asked Carbucketty, leaning back. Tumblebrutus smiled and sat down next to Jemima.

"Late tomorrow," he said. Jemima let out a small sigh. Tumblebrutus put his hand upon Jemima's shoulder and rubbed it gently.

"Don't worry Miss Jemima, we'll soon get you back to the castle and find you somewhere to stay." said Tumblebrutus gently. Jemima looked over at him.

"I hope you're right..." she whispered, looking up at the moon.

Alonzo looked at the moon and sighed. The fire flickered weakly as Tugger and Munkustrap laid sound asleep on either side of Alonzo. Alonzo took in a deep breath of the cold air and let it out. _Please... Princess Demeter, be safe. If you are hurt... who knows what will happen... Be safe... for the sake of the kingdom... be safe..._

A/N: Sorry... it took so long to bring this story back up but I have been away and doing other things and I wrote on this periodically throughout the years... and I'm trying to get my bum back into this story, I really am... I hope you enjoy it so far, and I know the chapters are long but there is a lot to put in each chapter, I think.


	3. The Rescue

**Chapter 3: The Rescue**

* * *

Heat. Heat was all around her. Red dancing with yellow, yellow dancing with orange, red dancing with yellow dancing with orange, all dancing together. They danced around her, teasing her, snickering at her, telling her she was too late. She heard them talking to her, talking about her, bashing her, belittling her. _Stop it!_ She thought as she looked around her. _I don't care what you say about me, all I want to do is find my sister!_

_Jemima..._

Jemima turned around and saw her sister, Sillabub, standing yards away from her. Her green eyes danced with fire in them. Her gentle fur was barely touched by the fire that surrounded her and her twin sister. _Sillabub..._ Jemima smiled to herself as she saw her sister standing there, a smile upon her face. She was going to be okay... everything was going to be okay and they would live together as a family again. A family... together...

_Jemima!_ Jemima's face got a questionable look upon it. Who else would be calling her?

_Jemima._

Jemima's ears twitched, the voice so familiar. She looked around and finally turned around and saw a familiar tom standing there, fire dancing on the shine of the armor the cat bore. _Tumblebrutus!_

"Go away! Save the others! I'm going to my sister!" she called. She saw the hurt face upon the tom and she whirled around. To her surprise, Sillabub was no where to be seen. She became confused. Where did her sister go? Did she leave her while she was talking to Tumblebrutus? She turned around to ask Tumblebrutus where her sister went, but he was gone as well. Now she was really confused.

Suddenly something happened. Jemima felt weird. She smelt something weird. She looked around and finally noticed that flames were all around her... But before it didn't bother her but now... Something disturbed her. She sniffed around and looked down at her arm. It was burning... Her eyes went wide as she watched as the sleeve of her dress disappeared and her fur was burning. Her mouth opened and she let out a scream. Pain... Sheer hot pain was all over her body. The fire was all around her. They were singing... singing their death song. They were teasing her as she felt her fur burning. She kept screaming, feeling the flames now attacking her face. She closed her eyes, not wanting to watch anymore.

_Jemima..._

_Leave me alone fire!_ She felt tears stream down her cheeks but they never went far, evaporating before they got anywhere.

_Jemima..._

"LEAVE ME ALONEEEEEEEE" she shouted, then letting out a scream as she felt her body fall to the ground. It was all around her. The dancing flames all abandoned their partners and were now on top of her. _Leave me alone... please... Sillabub... Tumblebrutus... someone... please... help me!_

_Jemima... up..._

_Why must you haunt me fire?_ Thought Jemima as she felt her fur begin to fall off.

_...Jem...wa...p..._

_Leave me aloneee_. Jemima let out another scream and opened her eyes

Her eyes met gentle eyes, and everything around her began to flood into her ears. Soon, she noticed she was screaming and that tears were streaming down her cheeks. It took her moments to noticed that the eyes she was starring into where Tumblebrutus'. She didn't understand... She soon stopped screaming and before Tumblebrutus could say anything she reached her two shaky hands up to touch Tumblebrutus' cheeks. Each hand touched the soft fur upon his cheeks over and over. One hand touched his forehead, making sure that was real... Her fingers made their way to his eyes. Tumblebrutus closed his eyes as she touched them gently. The fingertips traveled down his nose then lingered upon his lips. He was solid. She found her hands cupping his cheeks.

"Real..." she whispered, feeling that her voice hurt and was sore. Tumblebrutus just stared at the scared queen in his hands. He watched as her eyes darted to her arms, a look of amazement upon her face. Jemima felt amazed as she looked at her arms... They were still there... no fur missing... nothing burning...

"Jemima..." whispered Tumblebrutus but he soon found her head buried into his brown shirt he usually wore under his armor. He felt shaky arms wrapping around his waist. He was unsure of himself with the queen so close to him. His arms soon found their way around her small body, pulling her towards him. He soon felt a little damp upon his chest, then figured out that Jemima was crying. He was lost for words... She must have had a dream that upset her, for she had been screaming for a good ten minutes. Tumblebrutus found his cheek resting upon the helpless queen's head and soon was humming softly, trying to sooth her. His God Mother used to do this to him when he was young, when he was upset and scared.

What seemed like forever, Jemima finally came to her senses and soon stopped crying. She slowly pulled away and looked up at Tumblebrutus. She felt a gentle hand brush some of her hair from her face and she turned her face away, a small blush starting to blossom.

"There is a stream out back for you to clean up if you wish." Tumblebrutus said gently, not wanting to hurry the queen any faster than he felt she could manage. Jemima nodded and slowly got up. Tumblebrutus watched as she exited, but before she did, she turned and looked at him. She opened her mouth, but soon shut it and left the tent. Tumblebrutus smiled.

"You are welcome." he said to nobody at all. He made his way out of the tent and met the stare of a cat upon a black stallion. Tumblebrutus let out a soft gasp of surprise and grinned.

"Hello Rumpus." he said.

"Who is that?" asked Rumpus, taking off his helmet.

"That is Jemima... I rescued her from a burning village. Most likely done by the same people who were burning other villages..." explained Tumblebrutus. He knew that Rumpus was just trying to make small talk before he told Tumblebrutus what he found.

"She's getting worse..." Rumpus said. Tumblebrutus looked at the ground, his hand curling into a fist.

"Damnit..."

* * *

The sun shone bright of the day that was before them. Sunlight shone through the window, slipping through the curtains and touched the cheek of the sleeping queen. A soft moan escaped from the queen's lips and her eyes began to flutter open. Green eyes focused upon the bright light and soon shut itself off from the light. It was too bright, she wasn't ready to see light that bright yet. She was warm under her blankets but something didn't feel right... Something didn't feel right at all... And this is what woke up the queen. She slowly sat up, but she felt a small pain in her abdomen. She couldn't place where the pain was at, and she couldn't remember how she got it. Did she eat too much last night? No... She ate her food but not all of it, so she didn't eat too much. Had she drank too much? No... She barely touched the wine Macavity had offered her... She felt her feet touch the ground and she pulled the sheets off of her. She let out a small gasp as she looked at the sheets under her covers. Red... The white sheets were stained with red... Blood? Demeter began to check over her body but found small red spots upon her night dress. Demeter did not understand. She soon stood up and felt that between her legs were sore. Demeter scrunched up her brow, trying to figure out what was wrong... Then it suddenly hit her and she fell back upon the bed, her hand upon her chest. Macavity... Demeter closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. Tears began to form and soon soft sobs were coming from the queen.

The door opened and Demeter quickly wiped her tears away. She looked up and noticed a brown queen walking into the room, a dress of emerald green in her arms. The queen looked at Demeter and gave her a small smile. She gave Demeter a small curtsie and placed the beautiful dress upon the table.

"Good morning Princess," greeted the brown queen.

"Good morning miss..." trailed off Demeter, not sure who the queen was that stood before her. She recognized her from the night before, but most of the night was a blur to her and that made her feel uncomfortable. She already realized one thing that had happened, had she done anything else out of character?

"Summer," said the queen, a small blush upon her face. "I'm not used to being shown kindness." she replied, looking at the ground a bit embarrassed. Demeter was confused.

"What do you mean? I just replied back to you as you greeted me... is that not common in this castle?" she questioned, looking at Summer with a puzzled look. Summer shook her head quickly.

"Oh no, no one ever pays attention to me.. The only one who ever says anything kind is Princess Rumpleteazer and she..." but Summer couldn't finish before Demeter spoke up.

"Princess Rumpleteazer?" Demeter began to think, and then a small but brief memory popped into her head. "Oh yes..." Demeter said softly, her eyes focusing on the table. The Princess she had cried to the night before. She felt a little embarrassed now that she thought upon her actions, it wasn't quite like her. Yet, she had been scared and wanted to let out her frustration.. Most princesses cry to loosen their frustration, but Demeter's sister Bombalurina yelled to get out her frustration. Demeter's eyes soften at the thought of her sister.

"Princess... I'm here to dress you and take you down to breakfast," spoke Summer, after several moments of silence between the two. Demeter looked up and nodded and she stood up. Summer gave Demeter a small smile, feeling that she needed some encouragement. Demeter returned the smile and Summer spoke, but her voice was a little timid.

"I'm not supposed to do this but... If you ever want to talk about anything... I'm here." Demeter smiled.

"Thank you Summer. You have such a kind heart," Summer blushed a bit and began to dress the foreign princess.

Demeter did not like the feel of Macavity's castle at all. Everywhere she looked she saw deep red and black tapestries, suits of armor that were blood stained and rough looking, and the smell wasn't something she was used to either. She missed her home, where the tapestries were black and golden and it always smelled of fresh bread and felt warm. Summer was just in front of Demeter as they walked towards the dinning room, the place where Demeter was supposed to meet Macavity for breakfast. Her heart began to pound in her chest. What was she going to say to him when she found him? Ask him why he had soiled her? Was she bound to maybe do something unladylike and slap him in the face? She was sure her mother would have done something like that. Demeter sighed at the thought of her mother. The beautiful Grizabella... Too bad Demeter never knew her, for Grizabella had died soon after her birth. The thought made Demeter sad and she soon shook it from her mind.

A figure suddenly caught Demeter's attention as they walked. She small queen was carrying a tray with what seemed to be something covered. Demeter became curious and soon slipped away from Summer and fell into line behind the short queen. She tried not to make too much noise to startle her new guide. Demeter was curious as to who was receiving the covered gift and what it was. Soon the figure came to a door and opened it. Demeter caught the door and swung it open. It was another bedroom, a beautiful room with orange accents here and there. Her eyes finally settled upon who was receiving the gift, and their eyes met hers as well. The figure wasn't alone, besides herself and the servant, there was a tom standing there as well, his eyes wide with fright at the sight of Demeter.

"Olivia!" cried the queen, rushing to her servant. "Why did you allow yourself to be followed?" she asked, panic in her voice. Olivia blinked questionably and then looked behind her. Her eyes fell upon Demeter and let out a small gasp.

"Oh Princess Rumpleteazer! I'm extremely sorry!" she said, looking back at the shocked Princess. Demeter smiled. Now she remembered... Princess Rumpleteazer. Rumpleteazer seemed to had recognized her as well.

"Princess Demeter..." said the younger Princess, her eyes a little worried.

"Do not worry, I will not tell Macavity of your guest. May I ask his name at least? So I know if ever questioned about him, I can deny anything that might blacken his name?" questioned Demeter, a small smile upon her face. Rumpleteazer's worried look turned into a happy smile and looked back at the tom.

"This is Mungojerrie, he is a knight here. I'm not allowed any visitors due to Prince Macavity's orders... but Mungojerrie and Olivia are my only friends so..." Rumpleteazer began to babble about the story of her being locked in her room and soon began to giggle. "I guess this would be a very good story to tell to someone down the road, isn't it? A princess locked in her room and soon to be rescued by her knight in shining armor," Rumpleteazer grinned, and her eyes flashed quickly to Mungojerrie then back again. Demeter gave the princess a small. She looked at the covered gift and finally asked the question that had been bugging her for a long time now.

"So, what is that exactly? The thing that is covered up?" Rumpleteazer glanced at the tray that Olivia brought and smiled.

"That is my breakfast." replied Rumpleteazer, sitting at the table finally. She had forgotten about her meal until just then. Demeter raised an eyebrow.

"Breakfast? Can you not eat in the dinning hall?" asked Demeter, now curious.

"Prince Macavity doesn't like that," spoke Mungojerrie for the first time. Demeter had almost forgotten about him but gave him a small smile.

"I see. I'm sorry to make this visit short, but I feel you should leave... I was supposed to be in the breakfast hall by now and I have no doubt that we might be visited soon once they find out where I have escaped to." explained Demeter. Mungojerrie gave her a nod and looked down at Rumpleteazer.

"Princess." he said as he bowed before her. He was soon gone, faster than it took for Rumpleteazer to try to swat him. A playful smile settled upon her face.

"I keep telling him to not call me Princess." she said softly, resting her face in her hand. She glanced at Olivia. "You better go too, you are usually gone by now. I don't want you to get in trouble again. You could lose your whole hand instead of one finger." said Rumpleteazer, a worried look upon her face. Olivia looked at her left hand, noticing her missing pinky.

"Do not worry, I'm one of the better servants here... if they want to cut off my whole hand, they'll be losing a good worker." explained Olivia. She turned, gave a curtsie to Demeter, and left.

Demeter made her way to the table and sat down, glancing at Rumpleteazer.

"What do you do all day while you are in here?" she questioned, very curious as to what the Princess did to pass the time. Rumpleteazer put down her biscuit as she looked at Demeter.

"I don't do much of anything. It saddens me a lot. When I was first locked up, I used to sneak out a lot just to defy King Growltiger. Soon after Growltiger and Griddlebone left, Macavity decided to go in on the whole _Keep the princess in her room_ thing... For a while, Macavity seemed to have liked me. This creeped me out a bit... you know... being related to Griddlebone and all. He soon stopped trying to court me when I dropped an egg upon his head when he tried to steal a kiss. That did not settle with him too well so. But anyway, back onto the topic at hand, I soon kept getting caught. I've sometimes went weeks without supper so I stopped sneaking out, I was starting to look unhealthy. I just decided to sneak out yesterday but that didn't work very well.. I almost lost my hand. I wish the servants of this castle would come to realize that Growltiger and Griddlebone are not coming back..." Demeter watched the Princess with intent eyes. What a sad life, never having anyone to talk to while she was in this big castle. She placed her hand upon Rumpleteazer's and gave it a small squeeze. Rumpleteazer looked back at her and gave her a smile of her own.

"Thank you Princess Demeter..." Demeter laughed softly.

"Call me Demeter... Princess is something I want people other than friends to call me." replied Demeter. Rumpleteazer's eyes lit up and she let out a small giggle.

"Friends? You and me?" she questioned. Demeter gave the queen a small nod and soon found the princess extremely hyper and very clingy. Rumpleteazer pulled Demeter into a tight hug and was squealing a bit too loud for Demeter to take. She laughed and pulled away from Rumpleteazer, a grin upon her face.

"Am I interrupting something?" questioned a voice. Demeter and Rumpleteazer turned their heads to see a very dull looking Macavity leaning against the doorway. Rumpleteazer quickly lost her smile and turned away. Her eyes were now focused on her half eaten breakfast. Demeter stared at Macavity. Her muscles began to tense up. She didn't know what she would do if he tried to approach her. Macavity smiled and pushed himself off the doorway and made his way towards the table.

"I missed you at breakfast." he purred, his hand reaching out to brush Demeter's cheek. Demeter jerked away and glared at him. A slight sign up angry crossed Macavity's eyes, but as soon as it reached his eyes it was gone.

"My my... we are feisty this morning. I'm not surprised..." he purred again, his haunting eyes staring into hers. Before she knew what she was doing, Demeter slapped Macavity across the cheek as she stood. Rumpleteazer gasped her eyes wide. She had never seen anyone slap Macavity... A part of her mind cheered on her new friend, happy that someone had set Macavity right. Macavity rubbed his cheek slowly, and glanced at Demeter.

"I will have my meals in my room." Demeter stated, her head up in a proper manner. She was now in Princess mode, the mode she went into whenever she was agitated and upset. Macavity gave a low growl.

"That is not an option Princess." stated Macavity.

"Why not? Princess Rumpleteazer has her meals in her room, why can I not have the same option? Very well. If it is not an option, then I will only eat in the hall if Rumpleteazer is allowed to eat there as well." explained Demeter, her chest puffing up a bit. She wasn't the tallest of queens, she was quite on the short side compared to her sister Bombalurina, but she wasn't going to let her size keep her down. Macavity glanced at Rumpleteazer then at Demeter.

"I will see you at lunch then Princesses." said Macavity quietly as he left the room, his black boots clicking on the stone. Demeter felt proud of herself. She usually backed down from challenges and always went with the option given to her. She felt pleased to have finally done something she wasn't accustomed to doing, and that sent a smile across her face. She turned to Rumpleteazer and kept her smile.

"No more eating here." replied Demeter. A smile spread across Rumpleteazer's face.

"Thank you so much." she said, as she got up and hugged Demeter. Demeter hugged the queen back and let her eyes wonder out the open window. At least she wasn't alone.

* * *

Macavity walked quickly down the corridors, up staircases and through more corridors and up more steps until he found his destination. He was angry and needed to take it out on the one being he felt was for his unhappiness. His magician. Macavity turned the door handle and stormed into the room. His eyes focused to the dim light in the room, even if it was almost noon. A soft caw came from a crow on a perch but other than that he found no one. _Mistoffelees... Where have you gotten to? You knew that spell wouldn't last... Damn you..._ Macavity turned around, only to be met with the deep blue eyes of his magician.

"Is there something you need?" asked Mistoffelees, his voice calm and collect. His hands were hidden in his dark robes as he looked at his Prince. Mistoffelees wasn't dumb, he knew Macavity was angry with him. The spell had only made her love him for the one night, it wasn't permanent. He should have told Macavity that he did not posses the power to make one that lasted longer than twelve hours, but that slipped his mind at the time. Macavity just stared at him and gave a soft growl.

"You know why I've come, do not play dumb with me Mistoffelees." said Macavity, his hands already in fists to try to wear off his anger.

"Is it about the Princess?" questioned Mistoffelees, trying to sound surprised. This, unfortunately, did not work.

"Yes, all knowing one, it is." Macavity took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He wasn't acting like himself, his choice of words and sarcasm had vouched for that.

"Am I allowed back into my room or are we going to stand here while I try to explain myself?" questioned Mistoffelees. Macavity slowly backed up, allowing Mistoffelees to enter his room.

Mistoffelees made his way over to his crow and slowly ran his finger down the bird's breast. It cawed once more, blinking his eyes. Mistoffelees smiled and glanced over at Macavity.

"Please, have a seat." Macavity found himself sitting upon a stool near Mistoffelees' desk. Macavity glanced upon the desk. It was quite unorganized, and this surprised the Prince just a bit. He always found Mistoffelees to be quite organized and had an order to everything he did.

"Now, you have come to question me about Princess Demeter, am I correct?" questioned Mistoffelees, bringing Macavity back to what was at hand. He glanced at Mistoffelees and gave a quick nod, his temper well gone now.

"Yes. Why is she not in love with me? When I asked for that love potion, I did not want it to be temporary, I wanted it to be permanent." explained Macavity, his eyes glancing at Mistoffelees. Mistoffelees sat upon his bed and pulled his hands out from underneath his cloak. His hands found their way together as Mistoffelees thought.

"It had slipped my mind to tell you that the effect was temporary and not permanent. I do not have the power or the knowledge to make a lasting love spell. This, is magic that I had never studied or was never too interested in. Now, if you would to contact my brother..." but Mistoffelees slowly stopped. The thought of his younger brother angered and slightly saddened him. Mistoffelees closed his eyes as he though. _Quaxo..._ Mistoffelees soon came to his senses and looked at Macavity.

"If you wish, I can study up on these types of spells and make you one. It shall take some time, but I can do this if you wish." explained Mistoffelees, pushing aside all thoughts of his brother. Macavity straightened his posture and stood up.

"Yes that is exactly what I want you to do. In the mean time, I shall try to seduce the queen myself... It would be sad to have few nights like the one we shared last night." purred Macavity as he made his way from Mistoffelees' room. Mistoffelees slowly got up and shut the door. He looked at his crow and walked over to him. He stroked the bird again and a small smile was upon his lips.

"I do not think I shall study that spell old friend." he told the bird. "Demeter will soon be gone, and soon I will be with my love again. It shall be rough, but I foresee us being together and gone soon enough..." The bird gave a long caw before Mistoffelees let the bird fly through his window so he could exercise his wings.

* * *

Victoria made her way down one of the long corridors of the castle. She hummed softly to herself as she walked. She was trying to make herself happy and take her mind off of the horrible situation at hand... the kidnapping of Princess Demeter. Victoria didn't like thinking about it, for Demeter was her best friend besides Quaxo. A small smile spread across her face. Quaxo. She soon began to skip a little as she walked, the thought of the male courting her made her happy. Victoria rounded the corner and soon found herself hitting another body. She backed up a bit and looked to see who she had skipped into. She didn't even have to look at the face before she knew who she had run into, the earthly color of her dress gave her away.

"Cassandra." said Victoria, straightening herself a bit, smoothing out the wrinkles of her pink dress.

"Why are you so happy?" questioned Cassandra, not even acknowledging her. This made Victoria a bit unhappy. She never understood why Cassandra had been treating her horribly lately for they used to get along quite nicely.

"Must here be a reason for happiness? Must happiness always have a reason?" asked Victoria. Cassandra gave a frown.

"Our castle is in a muddle because of the capture of Princess Demeter and you act like nothing has changed." explained Cassandra. Victoria's eyes met Cassandra's as she tried to hold in her temper.

"Are you saying that I am acting like I do not care about the situation at hand?" Victoria tried to calm herself down; knowing that getting into an argument with Cassandra was just what she wanted.

"That is exactly what I am saying. You do not care one bit that our Princess is missing. You are probably happy that she is gone." spat Cassandra. Victoria's eyes flared and she did something she would never do. She slapped Cassandra. Cassandra was taken back by this gesture and could only stand there, wide eyed.

"Do not tell me what I do and do not feel. Princess Demeter is my best friend. My _friend._ Something you know nothing about. Now, if you would excuse me!" hissed Victoria, and she stepped to the side and walked briskly passed the stunned queen. Cassandra curled her hand up into a fist and hit the castle wall.

_The nerve of her! Slapping me of all people._ Cassandra turned around and glared as she watched the white and pink figure soon turn a corner and disappear. _I'll get her for this._

Victoria rounded the corner and soon stopped. Her hands were in fists and the next thing she knew she was kneeling on the ground crying. She didn't understand why she found herself hunched over with tears running down her eyes, but she did. What Cassandra had said struck her. Demeter was gone... and she was skipping around thinking about Quaxo. Was she heartless for doing so? Tears kept coming as Victoria leaned against the stone wall.

"Victoria?" came a gentle voice from behind her. Either Victoria didn't hear, or she just plain ignored it, but the owner of the voice touched Victoria's shoulder which made her jump in surprise. She looked up and noticed the bright blue eyes of Quaxo staring down at her.

"Quaxo..." she whispered softly. That was the last person she would want to see her cry. Quaxo knelt down next to her and gently brushed away some of her tears.

"Victoria, what is wrong? I rarely see you upset, and I have never seen you come to tears before." explained Quaxo. He felt helpless as he watched Victoria cry. "Was it something I did? Is it because I skipped out on lunch again? If so, I'm extremely sorry, I got busy and the next thing I knew it was well passed lunch." blabbed Quaxo. He hoped that it wasn't anything he did, but then he did wish it was him. He couldn't stand the thought of something else bringing the poor queen to tears other than him. He knew he could change and apologize for any idiotic thing he did, but if someone else did something he couldn't fix it. Victoria sniffed and shook her head.

"Nothing... its just me thinking about Princess Demeter and all..." said Victoria, trying to cheer herself up. Quaxo brushed away more tears and soon found his hand traveling down her cheek.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Victoria gave a small smile and nodded.

"Yeah... Cassandra just brought something to my attention and it made me think.. Do not worry about it." said Victoria. Quaxo raised an eyebrow.

"Cassandra?" he asked. That was strange. What could Cassandra say to make Victoria fret so... Sure, Princess Demeter would make Victoria upset but would it make her cry? There had to be more to this than Victoria was telling him, but he decided to let her tell him if she felt like it. Victoria nodded and gave a small smile.

"Yes, but do not worry... It is all over and I'm feeling much better that I'm with you at the moment." commented Victoria. Quaxo smiled as he stood up. He held his hand out for Victoria, who took it and found herself on her feet in a few seconds. Quaxo finally gave her a good look and kept on smiling.

"Ah, the pink dress I picked out for you. How pretty you look this afternoon." explained Quaxo, holding out his arm. Victoria linked her arm around his and playfully hit him.

"Now now, don't think too highly of yourself, I liked this dress before you even laid eyes upon it." she said. Quaxo smiled as they began to walk down the hall.

"Of course, of course. Would you like to take a trip to the gardens? I believe the apples on the trees are ready to be picked." suggested Quaxo, trying to make up for the skipped lunch. Victoria smiled.

"That is a wonderful idea."

* * *

"What do you see?" asked Deuteronomy, as he sat there looking a bit anxious.

"Patient my King." spoke a gentle, but deep voice of a robed cat. His golden eyes looked at a crystal ball upon the table between him at the King.

"Patience is the key your majesty." said a soft female voice, a robed cat who looked exactly like her partner. Her silver eyes gazed into the ball as well. Coricopat closed his eyes and at the same time, his sister Tantomile did the same. Deuteronomy sat there, his foot beginning to tap. Suddenly the twins opened their eyes and gave a small smile.

"She is fine." said Coricopat. "She has not been harmed with physical violence." Deuteronomy gave a small sigh of relief, but the sigh came a bit early.

"But there is something different about your daughter." said Tantomile. "Something has been taken from her, something that cannot be retrieved... It is gone forever." Deuteronomy scrunched up his eyebrows, confused.

"What do you mean?" he questioned. Tantomile stood, the crystal ball vanishing as she did.

"I cannot say... It is not my place or story to tell." she responded. She touched her brother upon the shoulder. Coricopat stood and gave a small bow before the King and the two made their way from the room.

Deuteronomy sat in his throne and gave a deep sigh. He should have known that the twins would keep information from him. Their parents had done the same years ago when he went to them for advice and knowledge. Like parent like child he always said. Demeter had taken after him, while his daughter took after her mother. Deuteronomy's eyes softened at the thought of the mother of his children. He stood up and made his way to a picture that hung upon the wall on the right. He walked up to it and laid his eyes upon one of the most beautiful cats he had ever seen. Her coat was a mixture of brown, fire red and gold. Her eyes... her crystal blue eyes could hold him forever in one gaze.

"Grizabella..." he whispered softly and turned away from the painting. He could not bare to think of her when he should be worried about his daughter.

"I see you still think of her." came a cracking voice. Deuteronomy looked up and smiled as his eyes met an old friend who he had not seen in some time.

"Gus!" he called, as he walked and met half way with his old time friend. He shook Gus's hand gently, knowing the cat had been reaching his time. Gus smiled and nodded his head.

"So you do still think about her." restated Gus, his brown eyes sparkling with delight. Deuteronomy gave a small laugh and turned to glance at the painting for a quick second.

"Yes, I guess I do still think about her from time to time." explained Deuteronomy.

"Too bad she _died_." said Gus, hanging his head a bit as to pay respect to the late Queen. Deuteronomy's right ear twitched a bit and nodded.

"Yes... a pity." he said softly. The King felt that a change in subject was needed. "So, what have you been up to?" he asked, curious as to what his friend had been doing with his old life.

"Nothing much as of late, I can tell you that. I come to visit my niece Jellylorum from time to time, but nothing other than that." explained Gus, making his way to the nearest thing he could sit upon. This just so happened to be the King's throne. Deuteronomy did not mind, it was his best friend after all.

"Ah yes... how is she holding up in the kitchens?" questioned Deuteronomy as he sat in the abandoned Queen throne next to his King throne.

"She is adapting fine. She enjoys it down there with the servants. She was always an interesting kitten when she was young... always wanting to clean and help her friend Jennyanydots. Funny how they both end up working in the kitchens and tending to the younger servants." explained Gus, a small smile upon his face. "I would so love to see her marry before I pass on to the Heavyside you know." Deuteronomy smiled and nodded.

"Yes... yes I understand." he said. Gus soon got to his feet and stretched a bit.

"Any sign that we shall be getting back our Princess?" questioned Gus. Deuteronomy shook his head. "Pity... Anyway, I must be off, I believe my wife could be thinking I passed on for how long I have been out. Poor old bat, she is probably thrilled about the thought. She'll be down right unhappy when I hobble through that door." explained Gus. Deuteronomy gave a laugh as he patted his friend upon the back.

"Tell her I say Hi." said the King.

"I will." said Gus, and he was soon on his way. Deuteronomy sat upon his throne and looked up at the ceiling. He was praying... praying to the Heavyside that his daughter was safe.

* * *

"Almost there!" shouted Munkustrap, edging his horse along. Alonzo hit at branches that tried to capture him and looked back at Tugger. Tugger had his hands full trying to edge his horse over a stream.

"Come on you dumb thing, just jump over." Tugger growled, not very happy at the predicament he was in. Alonzo pulled the reigns and turned his horse around. His horse trotted to the stream and he looked at Tugger.

"Having trouble with your horse Tugger? Thats something new, everything loves you." said Alonzo, having fun teasing his knightly friend. Tugger rolled his eyes and let out a soft laugh.

"Ha! You are just jealous," said Tugger. Tugger finally jabbed his horse with his heels and that sent the horse into a leap. The horse handed on the other side of the stream and was off after Munkustrap, who was now very far ahead of the team. Alonzo rolled his eyes as he turned his horse around and kicked him into a run.

The darkness of the forest was soon over as Alonzo made his way to the edge of the haunted forest. He understood why many people just went around the forest and not through it. He never felt as helpless and unhappy in his life. Munkustrap was a few feet in front of him and Tugger and he looked over the large meadow. He spotted a castle far on the horizon and turned to his comrades.

"We break in the castle at night. No one will suspect a thing." explained Munkustrap. Alonzo gave a cough and Munkustrap looked at him. "Yes Alonzo?"

"How will we get in? Our horses scream our own castle, and not the castle of Growltiger and Griddlebone." explained Alonzo, pointing down to his shield and the garment on his horse's face that bore black and gold. Munkustrap suddenly became agitated.

"Blasted.." he said and turned his attention to the castle again.

"Why don't we capture three knights and just steal their horses?" questioned Tugger. Munkustrap looked at him.

"Where are we going to find three stupid knights Tugger?" questioned Munkustrap. A rattle from the woods took Alonzo's attention and he turned around.

"Why didn't we just burn down that Village? It was screaming to be burned!" said a voice.

"Shut up Pouncival, I do not care about your thoughts." said another voice.

"Now Bill Bailey... Pouncival is younger than us and is always up for a challenge..." said a third voice.

"Shut up Gil." said Bill Baily. The three knights soon stopped at the sight of Tugger, Alonzo and Munkustrap. Tugger's eyes went wide and a huge smile spread across his face.

"Found them." said Tugger, his hand upon his sword. Bill Bailey looked at Tugger, then at his shield, then at his horse and then back at Tugger again.

"You... are from King Deutoronomy's kingdom aren't you?" questioned Bill Bailey. Gil didn't need to ask that question, he already knew the answer. His hand was upon his sword and he drew it. He sat up straight upon his horse, his chest up trying to make him look bigger. He was a small tom, and this discouraged him in most battles. Upon this action of Gil, Alonzo and Munkustrap both drew their swords and glared down the knights of Macavity's.

"We don't want to fight, but you see... Your Prince has taken our Princess. Now, we have come to take her back and your horses are just what we need." explained Tugger, pulling out his sword. Gil's horse began to bob its head, a soft neigh escaping. Gil did not like this. He did not like this at all.

Before Gil knew, he felt himself being pushed off of his horse. He hit the ground hard, his vision blurring. Pouncival shouted as Alonzo slashed at him. Pouncival deflected it with his shield, swinging blindly at Alonzo. Alonzo deflected then rammed his shoulder into the shield. Pouncival wiggled on his horse and Alonzo slashed at him again and Pouncival found himself off his horse and on the ground. Alonzo grabbed the reigns of the startled horse and began to whisper softly to it. He slipped off his own horse and stood over Pouncival. He leaned over and pulled off Pouncival's helmet. Pouncival looked up at Alonzo, his blue eyes scared.

"Are you going to kill me?" he asked. Alonzo took his sword and hit Pouncival on the head, knocking the poor cat out. He dropped the helmet and looked at Pouncival.

"Pitiful Knight..." Alonzo mumbled, mounting his horse once again. He looked around and noticed that both Tugger and Munkustrap had the horses and shields of the enemy and looked at him.

"Are we ready to lay low for a while?" questioned Munkustrap. Tugger looked at the knocked out knights on the ground.

"What about them when they wake up?" questioned Tugger.

"They won't wake up for hours and once they do, they have a long walk a head of them back to the castle... We shall be fine. Lets go." said Munkustrap, riding off towards the castle. Alonzo let out a sigh as they raced towards the castle. His eyes glanced up at the setting sun. Soon they were going to rescue the Princess and he could lay low for a while.

* * *

Jemima didn't know where she was. It was black all around. She turned to her left and there was nothing. She turned to her right and there was nothing there. Jemima began to breathe heavily. She was scared. She felt like she was in the dark forest, and this scared her so. Tears began to form in her eyes as she looked around.

"Sillabub?" she called out. There was nothing. "Mother? Father?" she shouted. No response. Jemima began to shake and she wrapped her arms around herself. She was alone. After what seemed like hours, a soft voice filled her ears. She strained them to hear.

"Jemima..." Her ears twitched and she whirled around. It was male...

"Tumblebrutus?" she called. She felt a hot breath upon her ear and a shiver went down her spine.

"Jemima." said the voice. Jemima felt weak. Why must the voice be so close. She turned around. Her eyes met nothing. She was confused now.

"Jemima wake up."

Jemima opened her eyes, but all she saw was darkness.

"Oh no... not again." she said softly. Tumblebrutus looked down, confused at the response he received from the queen.

"Not again? I do not think I understand..." said Tumblebrutus. Jemima looked behind her and then up at him. She seemed a bit surprised.

"This... isn't a dream?" she asked. Tumblebrutus shook his head. Jemima turned around and her vision adjusted and she saw dim lights ahead of her.

"We have reached our destination. Unfortunately, its quite late so we must stay at the inn.. The person we shall be visiting is most likely asleep, she needs her rest." explained Tumblebrutus.

Once they reached the inn, Tumblebrutus dismounted his horse and helped Jemima down. Jemima seemed uneasy with her legs, due to riding the horse most of the day. She held onto Tumblebrutus for support as they walked into the inn. Jemima's eyes glanced around the inn. It was dimly lit and there was a small tom behind the desk, his eyes closed. Carbucketty walked up and knocked upon the desk. The tom jolted awake and he looked at the group sleepily.

"Yes?" asked the tom, yawning sleepily.

"We need three rooms." said Tumblebrutus, taking out his change pouch and began to get out the gold for payment. Jemima looked up at him.

"Three?" she questioned.

"One for you, and two for me and the other knights." explained Tumblebrutus. Jemima looked down. She didn't like the thought of being in a room by herself. She had been having nightmares the past two nights and she was scared if she had another nightmare that night. They kept getting worse and that didn't please her.

"Is there something wrong?" questioned Tumblebrutus. Jemima felt her cheeks turn red and she kept looking down. She couldn't possibly ask for one of the knights to stay with her... Besides, it was horribly improper and wrong.

"No... Nothing is wrong." she said softly. Tumblebrutus looked at her then back at the tom. The tom gave him three keys and Tumblebrutus deposited the gold upon the counter and ushered Jemima down the hallway.

They reached the first room and Tumblebrutus opened the door for Jemima. Jemima walked into the dark room and looked around. Her eyes adjusted and she found the bed. She suddenly could see clearly and noticed that Tumblebrutus had lit the lamp for her. She gave a small smile and nodded.

"Thank you Tumblebrutus..." she said softly. Tumblebrutus walked over to her and placed his hands upon her shoulders. His eyes looked down into hers. Jemima felt her face start to flush, and she hoped that Tumblebrutus didn't notice.

"Are you going to be all right?" he asked softly. Jemima gave a little nod.

"Yes... If I have a nightmare I will most likely scream..." she said softly. Her eyes flickered with worry. She hoped she wouldn't have a nightmare. She felt Tumblebrutus touch her cheek softly. She glanced up at him.

"I will keep your key and once I open my room you can have mine. If you get scared, come and wake Me." explained Tumblebrutus. Jemima opened her mouth to protest but they were interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

"Hey Tumblebrutus, can me and Rumpus have our key?" Carbucketty asked. Tumblebrutus pulled away from Jemima and turned around.

"Yeah, I'm coming." he said and he walked out of the room. Jemima gave a soft sigh and sat upon her bed. She put her head in her hands and tears began to come to her eyes. Why was she feeling funny? She didn't understand why she was feeling this way. She shook her head. It was wrong... Everything she was feeling was wrong. She was an orphan, a queen with no money and nothing to her name. Why would anyone want to marry such a creature? She let out a soft sob and she felt her body ease. Several more sobs escaped her mouth and soon she found herself curled up on her bed, tears streaming down her face.

"Jemima?" asked Tumblebrutus as she walked quickly across the floor. His armor was off and he was dressed is loose pants and shirt. Jemima glanced at him but soon covered her face. Tumblebrutus found himself sitting upon her bed, a hand upon her should. "Jemima, what is wrong?" he asked. Jemima shook her head. Tumblebrutus sighed. He didn't understand Jemima at all. She cried, yet she would not tell him why; she would have a nightmare and not tell him what it was about. He was confused.

"Jemima... how am I suppose to help you if you do not let me know what is wrong with you?" asked Tumblebrutus, frustration coming to his voice.

"Why would you want to help me?" she asked, taking her hands from her face and looking at him. Tumblebrutus opened his mouth but soon shut it. Why did he want to help her? It wasn't his duty, he had helped several queens in the past but he was never this patient with a queen. He didn't understand it and rubbed his head.

"I am not completely sure." he said. Jemima gave a small sigh and looked at the ground.

"Once we get back to the castle... I will be on my own." she said. Tumblebrutus looked at her, the sudden realization coming over him. She would leave them once they reached the castle. He didn't understand why, but something inside of him felt weird. He soon stood and placed the key upon the nightstand next to the bed.

"There is my key, if you get scared I am in the room right next to this one." he said. He turned and walked towards the door. He turned around and looked at the queen lying upon the bed.

"Goodnight Jemima." he said. Jemima looked over at him and gave him a small smile.

"Goodnight Tumblebrutus."

* * *

Three knights rode their horses through the village surrounding the castle of Growltiger and Griddlebone. The one in the lead soon dismounted his horse, tying it to a tree nearby. His two partners soon did the same and they found their way up to the castle. They entered the castle and looked around. It was big... but not as big as Deuteronomy's castle. The one in the lead turned around and looked at the other two knights.

"We stick together." said Munkustrap, his eyes glancing around. "If anyone asks, we are just looking for a few servants for the night." explained Munkustrap. Alonzo held back a grunt of disapproval. _He should know enough about that subject._ Alonzo put his hand into a fist, trying to fight off what he had just thought. It was wrong of him to blame Munkustrap for his many affairs with the servants.

The three of them began to wonder around the castle, their eyes looking for anything that could lead them to finding Princess Demeter. Their eyes fell upon a queen walking down the hallway slowly, her orange, black and red hair braided into a long braid that went down to the middle of her back. Next to her was a smaller queen walking with her. Munkustrap could tell that one was of higher class, due to the clothing of the braided queen.

"Princess Rumpleteazer, I don't like that you can eat in the dinning hall now." said Olivia, fiddling with her hands. "It makes me nervous... I cannot watch what is put into your food if you eat down there... One of the chefs could slip you poison and kill you! Griddlebone would be so upset with me if she found that out." Rumpleteazer gave a nod and a small sigh.

"Yes, I understand Olivia..." Rumpleteazer froze when she felt a hand upon her shoulder. She turned around to be confronted by a knight. She began to blink rapidly, not liking the sudden company.

"May I help you?" asked Rumpleteazer.

"You are the Princess of the castle, right?" asked Munkustrap. Rumpleteazer let out a laugh.

"You are a knight here, and you do not know this? Of course I am." said Rumpleteazer. She was surprised by the lack of knowledge that this knight had. Maybe he was new, but if he had grew up in the village outside the castle, he would know who she was. "What is it that you want sir? I was about to go to my bed to retire." explained Rumpleteazer.

"Where is Princess Demeter." blabbed Tugger, not liking this subtle hinting and questioning. He wanted to get home. He was a bit tired and cranky and he didn't enjoy being in a foreign castle. Rumpleteazer was taken back.

"Princess Demeter? Why do you want to know where she is?" Olivia began to look at the knights then it dawned on her.

"You aren't from this castle..." Alonzo looked at Olivia and raised an eyebrow.

"How do you know this?" he asked, curious on how she could come to that conclusion so soon.

"Your shield. I remember quite clearly that Pouncival had a dent in the top of his shield exactly like that... no other knight has a dent in their shield." Olivia blurted out. Rumpleteazer looked at her friend.

"And how do you know this Olivia?" questioned Rumpleteazer. Olivia began to turn red.

"I... I..."

"This does not concern us how you know Pouncival, we are here for our Princess." said Munkustrap, getting agitated with both queens. Rumpleteazer looked at Munkustrap then at Olivia.

"You have come to take her away?" she asked.

"Yes... Our king is very worried for his daughter... You must know a fathers worry, you had a father once." said Alonzo. Rumpleteazer looked at Alonzo then gave a small smile.

"I will be happy to take you to Demeter."

Demeter lay in her bed, her eyes gazing out the window. As she closed her eyes, she heard the door open and the torch by the door suddenly became lit.

"If you are here for more fun Prince Macavity, you shall be getting none from me." she stated, sitting up in her bed with her back to the door. "You've already taken away my innocence; you shall not take anything else."

"What did you say?" came a voice that Demeter was not expecting to hear. She whirled around and a smile came to her lips.

"Munkustrap!" she called. She slipped out of the bed and ran to her friend. She tried to hug him but she found him grabbing her arms and keeping her away from him. "Munkustrap, why are you being so rough?" she asked.

"He took away your innocence?" he asked, his voice rough.

"Yes... but." she could not finish her sentence when she felt herself being pushed back into her room. She heard the door close and found Rumpleteazer standing there among the other two knights.

"Olivia went to get you some peasant clothes Demeter." said Rumpleteazer. Demeter smiled, but inside she felt worried. She never could remember seeing Munkustrap push her away from him. She soon felt Alonzo upon her side and turned to him. She gave him a smile.

"Hello Alonzo." she said. She felt herself being pulled into a hug and she let out a small laugh. He always did love to give hugs. She hugged him back and soon found herself trembling. She was hugging a friend... She was going home.

"Now, Olivia you hang onto one of the knights and Demeter you do the same. No one has really seen you, so they will not recognize you." explained Rumpleteazer as she began to spread mud like substance upon Demeter's face, trying to make her not recognizable to Macavity or to anyone who had actually seen her. They had put her hair up into a tight bun, which was no easy task due to Demeter's incredibly long hair. The group made their way out of the room and down the hall. Olivia wrapped her arms around Tugger's arm and grinned up at him. Tugger gave a smile, his eyes looking her up and down. She was quite good looking for a servant. Olivia gave a small squeal and rest her head upon his arm. Demeter had her arms wrapped around Munkustrap's arm, her eyes a little distant. She was still worried about Munkustrap's behavior earlier, but she put it to the side and only thought on getting out alive.

They reached the entrance of the castle when suddenly a cat stepped in front of them. Olivia let out a small gasp.

"Mistoffelees!" she said. She found herself clutching onto Tugger's arm a bit too hard and Tugger's arm began to go numb. Mistoffelees' eyes landed upon Demeter. Demeter looked back, hoping he wouldn't recognize her. Mistoffelees gave a small smile.

"Flying the coop?" he asked his voice gentle.

"Just taking these two lovely servants out for a bit... You know how that is." said Tugger, winking at Olivia. Olivia blushed. Mistoffelees didn't pay attention to them.

"Have fun." he said. Demeter blinked nervously as they passed. She felt Mistoffelees walk by her and heard him whisper "Goodbye Princess."

Demeter soon felt her loose hair flying behind her as Munkustrap made his horse run as fast as it could once they got out of the village and on their own horses other than the three they took. She tried to glance back at the dim lit castle, but Munkustrap forced her to face forward.

"You better get some sleep... We'll be riding for a while." explained Munkustrap. Demeter nodded and settled into a comfortable position and tried to fall asleep. It was a lot easier to fall asleep due to the fact that she knew she would be home the next day, in the comfort of her own kingdom and her own friends.

But she had a feeling things weren't going to be the same.

* * *

Author Notes: I am sorry it is taking me so long to get these chapters out.. as you can see, there is a lot of stuff to be covered and several stories going on at once... This one came out faster than the other one though and I am proud of it! The next one should be shorter... This wasn't suppose to be this long but it ended up this way... So sorry 


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